There's something I've been meaning to tell you
by daynaa
Summary: GSR, Yobling. Contains reference to rape, murder, some mild language...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own anything or anything relating to. You know the deal.

A/N: Good? Bad? Needs improvement? Please let me know what you think! Should I continue? Is anyone interested? Please let me know. Ah, so many questions, I have.

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"Alright Catherine, what have we got?" Sara asked. She was running late which was very unusual, and since Grissom decided to start a few minutes early due to an overload of cases that morning, she had missed the assignments, and was waiting for Catherine to fill her in as they drove to the crime scene.

"We've got a rape case. 29 year old girl. She's traumatized and can barley formulate a word, little lone identification on the rapist. If they show her a photo of the guy right now, it appears she'll have a heart attack." Catherine told Sara with a grim look. Cases like this one were hard. No one liked handling rape cases, but at least the victim was alive in this one. There hadn't been any deaths involved. Not that they knew of yet. They pulled into the crime scene and got to work. At first, it was hard. Things were crazy. The girl was being asked all sorts of questions by everyone, and wasn't answering anything. To Catherine and Sara's knowledge, the girl had yet to speak a word. It didn't take too long before they could get right down to processing. The police searched everywhere to make sure the scene was secured, and the rapist gone. Then, slowly and not quietly, everyone dispersed from the crime scene. Everyone but Catherine and Sara, that is.

"Sara, what do you think of this?" Catherine asked pointing to what could be a shoe mark at the edge of the second story window leading to the bedroom. Sara walked over and bent out the window the slightest bit to get a closer look.

"Can you get it?" She asked, obviously thinking it was something of great significance.

"Oh sure." Catherine nodded. Then she thought she heard a noise downstairs. "Who's down there, I thought everyone left?"

"They did." Sara told her, "But who's come back?" Both were self secure, independent women, but they were both a little uneasy while walking down the stairs to check out the situation below.

"Hello? Catherine Willows, CSI, who's there?" She asked in her most confident tone. If it had been an officer or a medical examiner, or anyone working on the case, they would have immediately identified themselves. This made both the women feel even more insecure.

"There it was again." Sara observed as she heard a noise coming from what she assumed to be the living room. She whipped out her cell phone and dialed Grissom's number. Catherine reached for her gun as she heard the noise again. "Grissom? It's Sara. Catherine and I are at the crime scene. We think someone's here. We keep hearing this noise… I'm not sure what it was, but it keeps getting closer, and no one's identified themselves. Everyone's left. Grissom…" Sara was cut off. Grissom swore he heard a muffled scream before the line went dead and his face was becoming paler. Something was wrong. Catherine and Sara were in danger, and to make matters worse, they were at the scene of a rape. If anything happened to either one of them… he would never forgive himself.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

A/N: I haven't been to school since Monday with all these snow days and sick days ha, so I've been writing a lot of fan fiction for the last two days… here's some of it! I hope it's not horrible… Thanks for all the great reviews!

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"We need to go, now." Grissom exclaimed as he rushed into the break room faster than Nick and Warrick had seen him move in a while. They knew something was up.

"Where, and why?" Nick asked, trying to keep the hint of fear out of his voice. There was only one, no two, things that could possibly make Grissom look that worried and scared, and that meant they were in trouble. Those two things were Sara Sidle and Catherine Willows who were the two toughest women any of the men had ever met, and they didn't let trouble get in their way easily.

"Catherine and Sara." Grissom confirmed their suspicions.

"Yeah, but what's happened to them?" Warrick asked. Why was Grissom so out of it? He would usually be so in control and in his 'I know everything, follow my lead' mode. Seeing him like this made the two men worry even more. If this was a situation Grissom was having trouble handling, how were they to cope? That's when Greg walked in. It was a very odd picture, he thought. Nick and Warrick's faces were consumed with worry and fear, and Grissom; he just looked completely out of it.

"Uh, hi." Greg muttered as he headed to the coffee pot. "Is everything alright?"

"No." Three voices told him.

"Catherine and Sara are in big trouble…" Grissom started.

"They'll be able to handle themselves, don't worry Grissom." Greg tried to reassure him. Catherine and Sara would be fine, Greg thought. They were probably much tougher than he was, and together, Greg betted they could handle almost any situation.

"No, Greg, they won't." Grissom argued, just above a whisper. "I was sitting in my office going over the case I'm on, and Sara called. Catherine and Sara are processing the scene of a rape that happened sometime last night. Everyone left the scene and they heard something downstairs. They went down and no one appeared to be there. Then Sara's phone cut out and she won't pick up now. I swear I heard screaming before I got cut of as well…" Grissom summarized the small amount of information he had.

"Let's go. We've got to get there quick!" Nick exclaimed. He grabbed his keys and they all headed out to the parking lot. They forgot about all of their other cases. Sara and Catherine were the only things that mattered right then. They had to get to the house fast.

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"Awe," Sara groaned, opening her eyes. What was wrong with her head? Everything was dark and blurry and her head was killing her. She didn't think she had been drinking the night before… where was she anyway? She spun her head around to see Catherine sitting two feet away from her. "Catherine, what are you doing here? Wait, where are we?"

"Lie back down, Sara." Catherine instructed her.

"No. Where are we?" Sara protested and asked again.

"Sara, lie down." Catherine repeated, her patience couldn't hold out much longer. Sara wasn't sure why Catherine was telling her to lie down, but she did it anyways. It seemed she had to if she wanted answers. "Thank you. It's safe to say you have a concussion, and I'm not sure what else you have." Catherine told Sara after she retreated to a laying position.

"What?" Sara asked pushing back the need to bolt upright again. "Cath, where are we?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Catherine told her, looking away. True, she remembered what happened, and true, she had been awake the whole time, but since the initial attack until about a half hour before the present time, she had something tied over her eyes.

"I'm so confused right now." Sara admitted, shutting her eyes tightly to try and make the tears go away. "I just want the pain to go away."

"How much pain are you in?" Catherine asked, very concerned. Catherine herself wasn't in much pain at all, she could handle the amount she was experiencing, but she knew Sara was in much worse shape than she was.

"A lot." Sara answered with a sigh. "Can you tell me what happened now?"

"Yeah, sure." Catherine nodded. "You and I got assigned a rape case. The rape victim was still alive but couldn't give out any condition because of her physiological state. We were processing the scene. Everything was secured, and we were the only ones there. I was just about to lift a shoe print off the outside of a second story window when we heard a noise downstairs. We went down to see who was there, but no one said anything, and we knew it wasn't anyone who was supposed to be there. We were standing on the stairs and you called Grissom to let him know we had a possible situation. You were halfway through a sentence when two people snuck down the stairs behind us. One of them grabbed me; the other grabbed your phone and hit you pretty hard which is when I'm thinking you got your concussion. Then he threw you over his shoulder and they covered my eyes and we were led to some sort of vehicle. We drove for quite a while; I have no idea how far. We could have been going around the same blocks thirty times for all I know. The vehicle stopped and they dragged us out. You were still unconscious… we went down some stairs and through a door and down some more stairs. I'm pretty sure were in a basement somewhere. Someplace no one is going to find us until it's too late." Catherine recounted the entire story to Sara. She held strong through the whole story, but with her personal predictions at the end, a tear silently rolled down her cheek.

"Grissom and the team will find us, Cath, you know they will." Sara told her. The pounding in her head wasn't going away, it still hurt like hell, but she was getting more and more awake. Sara wiggled around a bit, assuming they'd be restrained, but they weren't in any way. Sara could move her arms and legs and there was nothing on her face either. If they weren't restrained that meant that their kidnappers must have been confident they couldn't escape. Catherine was right; they must have been somewhere that had little chance of being found. Then again, maybe their kidnappers looked at the two women, noticed their size and appearance and underestimated their strength. She doubted it though. They probably knew who they were. It would be too ironic that they just randomly kidnapped two CSI's without knowing they were CSI's.

"I guess. I'm just so worried." Catherine admitted, "What if they don't find us? What if I never see Lindsay again?"

"You will, don't worry." Sara reassured her. Sara knew that Catherine would be much more scared than she was though, because even though both women feared for their own lives, Catherine feared for her daughter as well. Lindsay had already lost a father, and it would kill her if she lost her mother too. Catherine had to get out of here alive. Catherine smiled and wondered how Sara was making her feel better when she was the one with the concussion and head damage.

"Are you sure you're alright? Let me look at your head…" Catherine suggested.

"Ha, are you a doctor now?" Sara chuckled, figuring a laugh or two might make them feel better, but it just killed her head even more.

"No, but I might be able to help." Catherine smiled. Sara was still making jokes, so she couldn't be that bad off. Catherine crawled over to look at Sara's head, but as she did, they heard a loud thump come from above them. Terror filled both women's eyes as they realized their kidnappers had come back for them. These weren't any kidnappers either. They had been taken from a rape scene, which meant that these kidnappers were most likely rapists as well. The thump got louder and louder. It was hard to tell what it was. It wasn't a normal footstep, they knew that, but whatever it was, it was becoming louder and louder.

"Let's home the guys find something fast." Sara whispered squeezing her eyes shut.

"Yeah." Catherine agreed in an even quieter voice. Then from the other side of the room, they heard the jiggling of a door knob…

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I will try my best to update quickly! Keep reading and reviewing!

Dayna.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

A/N: Sorry that I am taking so long to update, I've been really busy catching up on all the schoolwork I missed due to all of my sick day's lol. Anyways, I'm trying to get this up as fast as I can, but my arm is really sore because I had a blood test today and I am really paranoid about needles haha. Well here it is… the feedback is greatly appreciated, and I'll try to keep it as real and good as I can, let me know if I start to veer in a negative direction…

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"Did you find anything?" Warrick asked Grissom who was processing the bedroom.

"Only this footprint, but it looks like either Catherine or Sara was lifting it when they heard the noise, so I don't know if it will help us with their case at all, but it's a clue in the original rape case." Grissom answered with a sigh.

"Okay, I found a few fibers and hairs down the hall. Greg and Nick took some stuff back to the lab, so we can just finish up with the living room. That's the only place left. Hopefully we get something concrete from there.

"Yeah." Grissom nodded, and continued lifting the shoeprint.

"We'll find them, don't worry." Warrick told him.

"I know, but let's do it fast before anyone gets hurt."

"Yeah. Okay, well just come down to the living room when you're ready and we'll process it alright?"

"Sure."

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"I see you girls have woken up." A considerably tall man said cheerfully as he strolled into the room. He was probably around 6'2", 200 lbs and dressed in a suit. Neither women recognized him, but he was a pretty average man with his brown hair and dark green eyes. He didn't look dangerous at all, but looks can be deceiving.

"We have." Sara nodded.

"And how is your head Ms. Sidle?" He asked as he continued to walk toward them.

"Its fine, thanks." She told him, even though Catherine knew she was in a lot of pain. Of course Sara would probably never admit she was in pain, no matter what they did to try and make her.

"If you're sure." He shrugged kneeling down only feet in front of them.

"Why are we here?" Catherine demanded.

"Ah, Ms. Willows, getting straight to the point are we?" He laughed. Both women gave him a hard glare and he continued laughing. "Why are you here… good question."

"Like you don't know the answer." Sara told him, trying to make her glare even icier than it was already.

"And I see you still have that charming attitude Sara." He laughed again. Catherine was confused, but she tried not to show it. How long had he been watching them? How much did he know about them?

"What would you know about my attitude?" She shot back at him.

"I know everything about you." He answered with a smile.

"You do not. No one does." Sara told him with a smirk.

"I wouldn't bet on it. Do you really want to get into it now, though? I assure you I do indeed know everything about you, would you like me to share? It could be quite an entertaining story for Ms. Willows."

"You don't know anything." Sara told him, but her confidence level had gone down slightly. What if he did know something?

"I guess its story time then." He laughed.

"Don't you dare." Sara warned.

"So you believe me now?" He asked. Catherine just sat there. She was half curious about how this man knew all about Sara's life if he actually did, because Sara was very confidential about person stuff, and half finding it funny how only Sara could get into an argument with a kidnapper/rapist that was holding them captive.

"No." Sara replied, but she wasn't sure whether to let it go, and just agree with him, or take the risk that he would fire off her life story.

"Fine then, up for a story Ms. Willows?" He asked, turning his attention to Catherine. She just gave him a hard glare and he started talking.

"Sara was a mistake. She was never supposed to happen. Her parents were hippies and having Sara meant they would have to settle down and raise a child, but they were going to have to accept it, because Sara was coming. And she came, and her parents settled down a bit and raised her. They hated being trapped in that life though, and her mother blamed Sara for that. Then Sara's brother came along and the fighting got worse. The arguments never ended, did they Sara? Then things got worse, and the trips to the hospital started." He paused slightly, taking in the look of disbelief on Catherine's face and the tears Sara was trying to keep in. "You thought you were normal too. You thought everyone's family fought with each other, you thought everyone's parents beat each other up, threw things, it was all too normal to you. Then one day, things got out of hand. You were always more of a daddy's girl, since your Mom blamed every unhappy emotion she ever experienced on you. You were with your Dad, and your Mom came in with a knife. Now, I'm sorry but you were slightly correct. I don't know ever detail of your fathers murder, would you like to explain exactly how your mother killed your father, or should I skip over that part?" Catherine had a look of total shock on her face. Was this really how Sara's childhood was? She didn't believe it, he must have been making this all up. How could Sara keep all of that in? "I guess we're skipping it then. Onto chapter two." Chapter two? It got worse, Catherine thought. "The lady from social services took you and your brother away. You finally realized that it wasn't normal for families to fight like that, to abuse each other that way, but it was too late. Your family was over. You and your brother were sent into child services and thus began the rest of your life. Moved from home to home, everywhere you went never making a friend. Always labeled 'the girl whose mother killed her father'. No one wanted to be your friend, so you threw yourself into school. At least you made your foster-parents proud right? You always brought home the best grades didn't you? But you weren't happy, you never were. You were always pushing yourself harder. Sure, you were top of the class, but you were still getting moved. You weren't making anyone proud enough to love you. But you kept pushing and pushing yourself, and then you got your scholarship to Harvard. At Harvard, no one labeled you, no one noticed you at all, did they? You just kept to yourself. You never went to any parties, you were never invited. You told yourself you wouldn't go anyway, but then one day everything changed. It was the beginning of December and one of those big Harvard jocks asked you to the Christmas dance, didn't he Ms. Sidle?" The man had a very amused look on his face. Sara looked like her tears were about ready to spill out of her eyes, but Catherine knew she was too strong to cry in front of this man, whoever he was. How did he know this much about Sara? Did he know this much about her?

"And you said yes, because you'd never been to a school dance, had you? You went out and bought an appropriate dress and you were pretty excited for a girl who didn't like dances or guys, weren't you?" He looked at Sara for some sort of positive indication, but she gave nothing. She was all too concentrated on keeping in the tears. "Were you or were you not?" He yelled, grabbing Sara's arm and making her look him in the eyes. She regained her composure a bit and stared back at him, but the tears were still there.

"Yes." She whispered, wincing at the pain that ran through her body at the pull.

"And so came the day of the dance. You met your date, what was his name again?" He asked Sara. She had turned her head away once again and Catherine hoped to god he didn't move Sara around anymore. She was in enough pain. Why wasn't he so focused on Sara? "I asked you what his name was, and don't tell me you don't remember."

Sara turned to face him. "Ryan."

"What was that?" He asked with a laugh.

"Ryan." She repeated, clenching her jaw.

"That's right," He laughed, "Ryan. So you met Ryan, and you two went into the dance together. You weren't exactly having fun, but you didn't hate it. You sat there, made small talk with Ryan for a bit until he lost interest in everything you had to say and went off talking to some buddies from the team. You sat there by yourself for a while, deciding on whether you should leave or not, when Ryan came back. He asked you to dance and you agreed." He paused for a second, as if trying to remember every last detail. Catherine had no idea where he was going with this story, and she still wanted to know how he knew every single detail of Sara's life, well almost every detail anyway. "So you danced for a few songs. Fast danced, slow danced, then it was time to leave. Ryan offered to drive you home, and you agreed. You got out to his car and sat there for a bit until he finally started it up. He told you some of the other guys and their dates were heading up to one of his buddies cabins not too far away. You told him you should just go home, but he was speeding away from the school. You drove for a while, and finally pulled up at a little cabin in the middle of no where. He unlocked the doors and he got out, motioning for you to do the same. You did, rather reluctantly, and followed him to the cabin. You didn't see any other cars there, so you wondered how you made it there before all his buddies, especially if it was his friends' cabin, but you followed him anyway didn't you. Would you like to continue from here, or shall I?" He asked with another evil laugh. "Which would you prefer Ms. Sidle?" He asked, more aggressively this time. He pushed Sara back against the wall and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I'll do it." She told him, not wanting to give him any more power than he already had.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged; sitting back like everything was fine.

"Ryan and I went into the cabin. He turned on some lights, and I sat down on a couch. He came and sat beside me, and we just sat there for probably fifteen minutes in silence. Then I asked him where his friends were, and he told me that they weren't coming. No one else was coming. Then… then he pushed me down on the couch, and he kissed me." Sara recounted, staring blankly at a wall on the other side of the room. Two more tears rolled down her cheek and Catherine gasped. Sara was raped? How did she never tell anyone about this before? Did Grissom know? There were millions of questions running through her mind, but maybe she was getting ahead of herself. Maybe all the guy did was kiss her.

"Go on." The man prompted with a smile. He was sick. How was he enjoying this so much?

"I tried to break free of his grip, but he was strong, an athlete you know. I screamed, I kicked, I yelled, I told him to stop, but there was no one around. Just us and the old cabin. Then, he raped me." More tears ran silently down her cheek, and Catherine didn't know how Sara could keep from sobbing. It looked as if this was the first time she'd ever spoken those words, and she kept all this to herself all this time.

"What? No details?" The man laughed.

"What the hell is your problem?" Catherine yelled at him. He turned his head from Sara to Catherine.

"Where do you get off talking to me like that?" He yelled back, standing up.

"How can you sit there and laugh you sick bastard!" Catherine screamed at him. He stopped laughing, and his face grew serious, but a smile was twitching at the edge of his lips. Sara was trying desperately to stop the tears to no avail. They just kept pouring out. The man raised his hand to hit Catherine, but stopped.

"You know what? I'm going to save all the fun for later. I'll be back." He smiled, before heading out of the room. Catherine immediately ran over to Sara and embraced her in a hug.

"Sara, why didn't you tell anyone earlier? We're here for you, you know that." Catherine told Sara, who was now sobbing uncontrollably.

"I… I just couldn't. It's too embarrassing. Grissom would have thought it would affect my work…" She regained a bit of her composure and the sobbing reseeded to a few escaping tears which she hastily wiped away.

"It's okay… everything will be fine." Catherine told Sara. She wasn't sure things would be, and as much as she hated making promises she couldn't keep, that was all Sara needed to hear right then. They had to get out of this mess somehow, alive and soon. She hoped Grissom and the guys had found something that would tell them where they were… and if they hadn't, they'd better do it fast.

A/N: Okay well, I'm thinking that was a long chapter… haha, I hope it was good! Please let me know how I'm doing. Sorry if any of my stuff here contradicts anything in the show… I don't have the best memory for details… and I haven't seen a lot of the earlier episodes. Hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"Yeah?" Grissom asked into his cell phone. He and Warrick were processing the living room of the house where Sara and Catherine had been taken, and they didn't have anything of obvious significance thus far.

"Yeah, it's Greg. We compared the DNA in the hairs that Warrick found in the house to those of the victim, Sara and Catherine, and they don't match any of the three women. Has anyone talked to the victim yet?"

"Of course they have. She wouldn't say anything before, why would she now?" Grissom answered.

"Well, I don't know, she might want to help if there are two more lives on the line…" Greg suggested hopefully.

"Well, we'll see what happens, thanks." Grissom replied before hanging up the phone.

"Did they get anything?" Warrick asked as Grissom returned to processing.

"Well, the hairs you found didn't match either girls, so it is mostly likely the rapist or kidnappers." Grissom answered.

"At least it's a small step in the right direction." Warrick shrugged. "Hey Grissom, come take a look at this… I think I know what was making that noise…"

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They just sat there for a few minutes. Catherine had her arms around Sara, trying to calm her down. Finally, Sara's tears began to dry up, and she pushed herself up against the wall, embarrassed that she had been crying. Catherine remained where she was, and watched Sara.

"Sara, how did that man know so much about your life? Will he know that much about me as well?" Catherine asked quietly, hoping the question wouldn't make Sara feel bad in any way.

"I doubt it, unless he did a lot of research." Sara answered, ignoring the first question completely.

"Why would he do research on only one of us?" Catherine asked another question. She really didn't want to be asking Sara all these questions when Sara was in such emotional distress, but she just needed to know what to prepare herself for.

"He didn't have to do research on me." Sara whispered. She felt the tears threatening to start falling again and she cursed them. Why did she have to cry? Why did she have to be so weak?

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, starting to piece together the puzzle, but not liking the picture she was getting. "Do you know him?"

"Sort of." Sara nodded with a shrug. The simple action made her whole body scream in pain. Aside from the concussion Catherine diagnosed her with, she had at least sprained if not broken her wrist from when the man had pulled her to look at him, and she wouldn't be surprised if she'd broken a rib when he'd pushed her up against the wall.

"What's his name?" Catherine asked, hoping the answer wouldn't be what she thought it would be.

"Ryan." Sara whispered. Catherine could barley hear her, but it was the answer she had been anticipating, so she could make it out easily.

"Oh god Sara, I'm sorry." Catherine sighed, pulling Sara back into a hug. Sara tried her best to keep the newly forming tears in and only one or two escaped. "It's okay to cry, you know." Catherine whispered.

"I know but I just don't want to. I need to stay strong. I can't let him know he's hurting me enough to cry." Catherine nodded and continued to hug Sara.

"Catherine, I'd be prepared for the worst, you know." Sara told her. She wasn't whispering any more, but she was still talking softly. Catherine didn't know what she meant by this. She pulled back a bit and looked Sara in the eye. She saw a million different emotions reflected back at her.

"What do you mean?" She clarified.

"Well, he knows me. He knows what he did to me, and how it affected my life… he knows how to hurt me in the worst way possible. But if he hasn't done his research on you, then he won't know how to hurt you in the same way he's hurting me… and I'm afraid if he can't mentally abuse you…"

"He might physically abuse me." Catherine finished. Sara nodded but Catherine could tell she wanted to say something else. "Or?" She asked.

"I don't want to say this… but there is one way he could possibly hurt you more than he's hurting me even." Sara started, and Catherine picked it up.

"Oh god." She gasped. "He wouldn't."

"I hate to think about it, but I don't think it's beneath him." Sara whispered.

"He can do anything he wants to me… he just can't hurt Lindsay." Catherine shook her head. The tears were rapidly filling her eyes, but she didn't want to keep them in. She was prepared to show every ounce of pain she was feeling, especially when that bastard was in the room. Maybe if he thought he was hurting her enough… maybe he wouldn't hurt Lindsay. Maybe he didn't even know about her… Sara was just pointing out the worst possible situation. There were too many maybes.

"Don't you just hate having your life in the hands of someone else?" Sara said.

"Yeah. But our lives aren't really in the hands of only one person… they're in the hands of a few." Catherine pointed out, trying to keep a little light on the situation.

"How do you figure?" Sara asked.

"Well, sure, our lives are in Ryan's hands… but they're also in Grissom, Warrick, Greg and Nick's hands as well." Catherine explained.

"Well at least there's a bit of hope." Sara nodded.

"Yeah, at least." Catherine nodded. They both leaned up against the wall lost in their silent thoughts and prayers. How much longer would they have to live?

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"So someone took the time to record a CD with a slight thumping noise that sounded every minute and a half, put it in this CD player and hide this CD player over here?" Grissom summarized Warrick's theory.

"That's what I'm thinking. They knew it wouldn't be found until the CSI's were found at the scene because it would have been too loud before."

"Yes, but why does someone want to kidnap two CSIs? It doesn't make much sense. Wouldn't they want two specific CSIs?" Grissom wondered.

"Yeah, I guess, and they couldn't have known who'd be assigned to the case until this morning." Warrick added. "So my theory's wrong."

"Maybe not entirely." Grissom said. "What if someone was to make multiple copies of this CD, find out which crime scenes one of our guys were going to and send one of their guys with the CD to each scene?"

"That way they'd be sure to get who they wanted." Warrick nodded. Now they were getting somewhere.

"It's a little farfetched, but it's all we've got now. Any prints on it?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah, two on the player, three on the CD." Warrick answered pulling them off. "I'll get these back to the lab, along with our theories, okay?"

"Sure, thanks." Grissom nodded as Warrick left. He had a feeling that Catherine and Sara were in a lot of danger. These guys went through a lot of trouble to kidnap them if their theories were true. He couldn't take the time to contemplate every possible situation Sara and Catherine could be in right then because that would mean wasting time he could be using to find them and ask them how they were personally. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

"Grissom." He answered.

"Hey, it's Greg again. Listen we've got something I think you should see…"

"I'm there." Grissom announced before slapping the phone shut.

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This time, there was no thumping noise to prepare them for the shock of hearing that dammed doorknob jiggling once again. Catherine inched away from Sara and they met each others eyes. They had to stay strong, they couldn't let him win.

"Miss me?" Ryan laughed as he strolled into the room. "No? Well I missed you. Especially you Sara." He added with a sickening smirk. He bent down and gave Sara a kiss on the cheek like a husband would give a wife when he arrives home from work at night. He then proceeded to take off his suit jacket and remove some sort of tape recording device from the pocket. He put the thing in the corner of the room and pressed the record button.

"What are you doing to us?" Catherine asked, trying to sound as confident as she could.

"What do you think I'm doing to you?" He asked a question back.

"Well, it looks like your staring at us." Sara piped up with a smirk.

"I'd keep your mouth shut Sidle." He warned her with a pointed gaze. "My last visit was for you, this one's for Catherine. Yours was a little more… private… so I didn't want it on tape, but this one, I need something to give to your CSI friends right?"

"I see." Sara nodded with a smirk. How was he that stupid? Catherine or she could easily leave small details regarding their whereabouts without him even knowing, but then she remembered she didn't even know their whereabouts. Shit.

"Always a useful habit to get into." He replied, obviously finding it very funny.

"So what do you have in store for me?" Catherine asked.

"You'll see…" Ryan answered with a smile that made Catherine and Sara's skin crawl. What the hell was he going to do?

A/N: I hope this is good stuff… I'm trying my best to update as quickly as I can… but I can always re-do stuff if it isn't good or satisfying etc. Anyways, what do you think? Thanks a lot to everyone who has review so far!


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

"What have you got for me Greg?" Grissom demanded as he walked into the lab. Greg looked up, surprised by Grissom's unusually tired, fearful voice.

"Well, I've got some news." Greg told him. "We found the name of our kidnapper, rapist guy. His name is Ryan Whittle and he's got a small list of charges against him. His priors are sexual assault and two counts of drug possession. He's a lawyer… I don't see his connection to Catherine or Sara though. Neither of them worked his sexual assault or drug cases… you got anything to help with that part?"

"He's a lawyer?" Grissom asked. "Do we know anything more about that?"

"Uh, I could check it out if you want." Greg offered, confused at why Grissom would be interested in that information.

"Thanks Greg." Grissom nodded before walking out of the room. Greg shrugged and got to work on finding everything he could on Ryan Whittle.

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"Before we start this uh, session," Ryan started his grin growing even eviler than it had been before, "Do you have anything you would like to say to your CSI friends? Any last goodbyes, confessions, requests…" Both Sara and Catherine had a million things they wanted to say, but should they allow themselves to give in? If they said something, they'd be accepting the fact they were never getting out of there alive, but if they didn't say anything, and they did die, this was there last chance. "Nothing?"

"I, uh…" Catherine started, not sure what to say at all. "If we don't make it out this situation alive or we go into a coma or something can you guys make sure you take care of Lindsay? Aside from Lindsay, you guys are the best thing in my life, and well, if I never see you again, just know I loved you more than you'll ever know, okay?" Catherine let a few tears slip down her cheeks before she swallowed hard and looked at Sara, trying to encourage her to say something. Sara took a deep breath. She didn't want to give into Ryan anymore than she already had… but maybe she had to, she couldn't take the chance of never saying goodbye.

"Same goes for me. You guys are the only things that keep me sane in this world. You're basically my whole life, and just know I always love you, okay?" She swallowed hard before any tears could escape. She was not going to cry because she was not going to die. This was just a precaution, nothing more, nothing less.

"Awe, I think I'm going to cry, okay enough." Ryan laughed. Sara couldn't begin to describe his laugh. It was the most sickening thing she had ever heard. It was the same laugh that had haunted her nightmares for years and years…

"No, it's not enough; I have something else I need to say." Sara interrupted his laugh. He stopped and looked at her. At first, his expression was angry and then it turned to satisfied.

"Are you sure it's something important? It'll cost you…" Ryan warned, but Sara had been thinking about this for too long. She had to say it, especially if it was the last chance she got.

"Would I have told you I needed to say if it wasn't important?" Sara rolled her eyes. She wasn't about to let this man intimidate her. She wasn't sure what he had in store for them, but this tape player was giving her a blast of hope. "I just need to read this while I still have the chance, okay?" She said, pulling a piece of paper out of her jeans pocket. She had kept it with her every where she went for years, ever since she'd written it. She'd read the sentences, feel the anger, write some more down if she felt the need, and put it back in her pocket. Catherine had no idea what Sara was doing, or where she got her sudden burst of well, normal Sara attitude from. The past few hours she'd been acting anything like herself, but that was changing now. She was curious to hear what Sara was going to read.

"Okay… I wrote this poem right after… okay_. And as I sit here alone trapped in my emotions with no way out, I can't help thinking of you and wishing you would come be my fairytale ending. Funny how I've lived my whole life never taking the risk of sharing a thought, never telling an emotion, never letting anyone see a tear slip down my cheek. Never letting the pain seep away, never letting the love in. Never able to accept, to acknowledge, any emotions for years at a time until one day I give up and I break down, but always alone. I would never let anyone see that I am as weak as the rest of the world, I can't. I keep telling myself I don't need anyone, especially you, but the words you say, I can't help but let them get into my head, and I don't understand why. I resent things I don't understand and I therefore resent you. I know that I'm slowly digging an emotional whole and burying myself alive in my thoughts, but I can't stop myself. Your tear stained words ring through my head. Why do you care what I think of you? My opinion doesn't matter, it shouldn't, I know nothing, and I am nothing. I have nothing to offer except a cold hearted opinion which you will value too much for your own good. It's sad how much reliance we put into one opinion. How is it that one person's words can scar a heart for eternity? I despise this confusing world. I think I might love you, but to love, you have to trust. I can't trust, and I can't talk about why, because to do so, I would have to relive the memories I promised myself I'd forgotten. I promised myself I'd forgotten them, and I've been lied to too many times to lie to myself. How can I be sure you won't lie to me too? You've already made me promises, and as soon as you make a promise you are setting yourself up for heartbreak and disappointment. If I've learned anything, it's to promise nothing. You can't be certain you will be able to keep a promise because who we are is always changing due to every single emotion we experience, every single thought we think. Promises are death to trust, and I've made too many, I've had too many made to me. Every promise is broken, and every broken promise breaks my heart again. My heart is in too many pieces to fix, and you told me you'd fix it. You promised, and you haven't, you never will, and there is another promise, another blow to my heart. Stop trying to help because you're only making things worse. Just leave me alone with my thoughts, I don't need you, I don't need anyone. All you do is get optimistic beliefs stuck in my head, and I am not an optimistic person, I am an honest person, and I can honestly say I don't want to love you. I can honestly say that I am falling in love with you, more and more so with every word you say, so if you love me at all, you'll leave. I don't want to remember your words. I don't want to feel your tears. Tears represent passion, a passion that cannot be expressed through words or letters, but only through your soul and your eyes. "Tears bond us together, and rip us apart. They explain everything we can't convey otherwise… they tell us everything we need to know without telling us anything at all. Let your tears go, I'll hold you while you cry." That's what you told me, and for one second, I believed you. I thought you'd stay forever and hold me while I cried, while I let all my emotions disappear leaving me blank and open. An erased book that has to be re-written. You could be my happy ending, but then, after that one second, I remember that I don't want a happy ending, I don't deserve one. Let me go, I don't want you to hold me while I cry. I'm stronger than that, I'm stronger than you. Let me live the way I want, emotionless, alone and in denial. You can live which ever way you choose, so let me choose my way. You'll understand someday when you've been broken, when you've been shattered the ways in which I have. Only then can you come back to me, only then we'll be together. We can sit, quiet and alone, trapped in our emotions, burying ourselves alive with our thoughts. Choking quietly on tears we're too strong to let free. Together we'll reflect silently on our lives, together we'll leave the disappointments and sorrow behind. Together we'll leave this world forever, but only then. _That's it." Sara tried her best not to cry while reading the poem. It was the first time she'd ever read it out loud, and she hoped she hadn't made a mistake in doing so. She looked over and saw Catherine with tears running down her cheeks. Catherine smiled at her, and Sara knew she had made the right choice in reading the poem. It made her so angry. So angry she could take anything this man threw at her, at them, she could handle him.

"You done now?" Ryan sighed, "Because I told you, you'd have to pay for that…" And with that, he closed the distance between Sara and himself. She looked him right in the eye and he could hardly return her gaze. How had he not destroyed her by raping her all those years ago? How could she get past something like that, how could she keep it all inside? He could barley live with himself for what he'd done, but he'd just made it worse… he couldn't help himself. He hated her for not feeling the way he did, he hated her because she was so strong. The last thing Sara heard was Catherine scream before everything went black.

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"Hey Grissom." Greg nodded as he walked into the break room. "I got that stuff you wanted on Ryan Whittle."

"Great, fill me in." Grissom replied, eyes fixated on his coffee. He was pretty sure what Greg was about to tell him would confirm his theory of the connection between Ryan Whittle and Sara.

"He grew up in…" Greg started before being cut off by Grissom.

"Where did he go to university?"

"Uh," Greg started, flipping through some papers. "Harvard, is that good?" Greg saw the look on Grissom's face, like he expected that to be the answer.

"Who else went to Harvard, Greg?" Grissom rolled his eyes.

"I don't know…" Greg shrugged, not making the connection.

"Sara went to Harvard." Grissom sighed.

"Oh, so that's the connection." Greg groaned finally getting it.

"Yeah, anyways, thanks for that Greg… we're making fairly good progress, we just have to keep going and find them before it's too late." Grissom tried to force a smile, but was unsuccessful. Greg understood how he felt and headed out of the room to leave Grissom with his thoughts.

A/N: Okay, intense. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, much love goes to you! Keep the reviews coming, they're inspiring me to write quickly, I had a bit of trouble with this chapter, but I opted to put in the poem I wrote. I don't know why I've been writing so many poems like that lately… hmm… did you like it? Thanks!

Dayna.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Catherine couldn't stop shaking. She wanted to scream, she needed to scream, but her voice failed her. Endless thoughts were running through her mind, but she couldn't turn any into words. Her eyes were covered again and she had the feeling that Ryan's accomplice had joined them in the room. She was blindfolded in a room with two strong men and an unconscious, bleeding friend, what were her chances? She had seen what Ryan did to Sara; he hadn't been gracious enough to cover her eyes before she witnessed that. Catherine just hoped Sara wasn't dead because she knew that Ryan had come to hurt Catherine that time, he had told them that, and Catherine knew that Sara felt responsible for putting Catherine in this situation. She felt it was her fault because Ryan was after her. She stalled until she could stall no more. Catherine didn't know Sara was capable of feeling the way she expressed in that poem. Who knew Sara had that much passion in her? She sure did a great job of covering it up, she'd give her that. Then that bastard Ryan… Sara had spoken too much, wasted too much time, so he had to make sure she didn't interfere anymore than she already had with his and Catherine's time. He pushed Sara hard into the wall. Sara hit her head and fell to the floor. Catherine had prayed he was done with her then, but he wasn't. He hit her hard in the face and blood started pouring out of her nose and lip. Then he'd kicked her around a few times leaving her body appearing lifeless and bleeding on the floor merely feet away from where Catherine was sitting. She knew Sara wasn't dead; she had still been breathing, but slower than before. If Grissom and the guys didn't get there soon, Catherine didn't know what was going to happen. She had no idea how much longer Sara could last because she didn't have time to evaluate the extent of her injuries. As soon as he was done kicking Sara around, he'd proceeded to tie some sort of cloth over Catherine's eyes, and tie her legs and arms together. He had walked around a bit, mumbling to himself and then she'd heard another voice, a lower voice, mumbling something. There was another person there. She caught some of the words.

"Put this where it needs to go." She heard the click of the tape player rewinding and ejecting. Then the tape was handed from one set of hands to another.

"Yes sir." The lower voice answered Ryan before she heard footsteps disappearing down the hall.

"You've got fifteen minutes before I start on you." Ryan warned Catherine. "Oh and by the way, I know you saw what I did to Sara… and if you think I'm doing that to you, you're so wrong." Catherine breathed a sigh of relief for a moment. "It's so much worse."

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"Hey Grissom, we've got an address for Ryan Whittle." Nick poked his head into Grissom's office and announced. Greg and Warrick called Brass and they're on there way over now, I've got my keys, you coming?"

"Yeah." Grissom nodded before jumping up and following Nick out the door. They got into Nick's car and headed off. The ride was silent for the first two or three minutes, but then Nick noticed something that hadn't been there earlier that day.

"Hey Grissom, is that yours?" He asked, nodding towards a tape on the dashboard.

"Nope. I'll put it in and see what's on it though…" Grissom popped the tape into the player. They heard a click and then Catherine's voice coming over the speakers. They listened silently as they drove along towards Ryan Whittle's house. Would Sara and Catherine both still be alive when they got there? After hearing this tape, they couldn't count on it. Nick was about to turn the car off when Grissom put a hand on his arm. "I want to listen to the rest of it Nick, you go ahead, I'll come." Nick nodded and got out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition. Grissom couldn't believe that Catherine and Sara of all people were saying their last goodbyes over a tape recorder. They wouldn't have done it if they really didn't think they were going to die… they weren't like that. That would mean giving Ryan Whittle unnecessary power of them, and they weren't like that at all. Then Sara started to read her poem, and his heart almost stopped. He listened as she read, her voice void of emotion, but the poem saying it all. He hoped he didn't have to understand, he hoped he hadn't lost her yet. He was so involved in his thoughts that he didn't feel the tear slipping down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and shut the car off. He wasn't going to let Sara and Catherine die, and if they were dead, he would make Ryan Whittle pay, he would kill him if he had to.

"Grissom, we're going in!" Brass called to him as he approached the house which had been surrounded. Grissom nodded and went over to stand beside the rest of his CSIs.

"Okay, I know we all want to stay here and make sure Catherine and Sara are alright, but Greg, I need to ask you to go get the tape from Nick's car and get it to trace alright? I need fingerprints off it, and hopefully we'll be able to get some voice samples to compare this to in a minute, alright?" Grissom stated.

"Sure." Greg nodded, not wanting to leave, but understanding he had to.

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"Five more minutes." Ryan chuckled. Catherine struggled to free herself of the restraints that were keeping her from seeing what Ryan was doing, but it was no use. He had her tied up tight. She stopped struggling and started to pray silently. She prayed that Grissom, Warrick, Nick, Greg and the rest of the team would find her soon. They had to. She was not going to die without saying goodbye to Lindsay first. She was not going to die because of Ryan. "I see you've given up already." Catherine would have glared at him if she could have. She had never hated someone as much as she hated Ryan then. He was holding her captive, had her tied up, made her say her final goodbyes to her friends' and daughter over a lousy tape player and he was laughing at her now? This was more than she could handle. She had to stop struggling to free herself though, she knew that. She could feel the blood trickling down her hands. Whatever he'd tied around her wrists had cut her while she was struggling and she was bleeding even before the attacks began. "Two minutes and counting." Ryan's laughing picked up again. "Get ready for show time Ms. Willows."

"What are you going to do to me?" She demanded, trying to sound as strong as she could.

"That would spoil all the fun." He pointed out in a very annoying voice. "Would you like me to start early?"

"Mightaswell." Catherine muttered.

"Your wish is my command." He laughed, walking over so he was standing directly in front of where she was tied up on the floor. He leaned down and pulled the cloth from over her eyes. She looked up at him. He knew she was trying to appear confident and together, but he saw right through it. She was terrified, and he loved that. In one simple motion, he raised his hand, made a fist and connected it with her temple. It knocked her right out. He wasn't man enough to beat up a woman while they were still conscious and protesting. He didn't think it was right.

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"There's no one in that house." Brass announced moments later.

"There has to be." Grissom insisted. "I know they're here."

"We looked everywhere." Brass reassured him, "They're not here." Grissom shook his head. He knew they were here, they had to be, he could feel it.

"Grissom, over here!" Warrick called. "See this patch of grass? It's disturbed. Something's been buried here recently…" His eyes met Grissom and the fear was deafening. Could Sara and Catherine be buried here? Were they too late?

"Brass! Get shovels here, now!" Grissom yelled.

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A/N: Okie, well what did you think?

Thanks a ton for all the reviews!

It's encouraging me to go fast with the updates…

But if it's getting less satisfying or anything, any suggestions, just tell me, I'll try my best to please you!


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

"Do you think it's…?" Grissom couldn't finish the sentence. He'd thought about it a million times since they realized the girls were missing, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it out loud.

"I don't know Grissom, it could be anything…" Brass started an attempt to comfort his friend, but was cut off by shouting coming from the diggers.

"We hit something hard!" They announced. "Some sort of wood…"

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Ryan was so focused on connecting his fists and feet with Catherine's body that he didn't hear the noise coming from above him. He couldn't get over the fact that every time he attacked someone it felt like his first time. The adrenalin rush, the satisfaction of having complete and total control over another beings life, being able to decide if they lived or died, inflicting all of his built up pain onto someone else, he loved every second of it. While he was throwing around Catherine's limp body, he stopped for a minute to reflect on how he'd gotten so skilful in his attacks. Sara had been his first victim, and he'd sexually assaulted her, but he soon realized that physical abuse was much more his style. Sara had confirmed any doubt he'd had of that earlier that day during their little talk. She hadn't told anyone about what happened to her; she hadn't let him stop her from doing what she wanted to in life. He hadn't had the impact he wanted, the impact he needed, to have on her. He had wanted to haunt her nightmares forever; he wanted to prevent her from ever being happy. He hadn't though; she had been able to get him out of her head by writing simple words on a piece of paper. If he had physically attacked her, he would have left bruises, he would have left scars, someone would have noticed, she would have had to tell someone. He shook his head. He was letting her get to him too much. She would never forget this second attack, never. He didn't have any reason to attack Catherine either, except convince. He would have never taken her if she weren't with Sara, so he hoped Sara blamed herself for Catherine having to though it and that way he would affect her even more. Every time she looked at Catherine, she would remember. He pushed all the thoughts out of his head as he continued to inflict pain on Catherine's bruised, bleeding, limp body.

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"What is it?" Warrick asked Grissom as they examined the piece of woody they'd uncovered.

"What does it look like?" Grissom answered with a question of his own. Warrick shrugged and knelt down beside Grissom.

"But it's not…" Warrick started, hoping Grissom would get what he meant. He didn't want to say it out loud. He couldn't bear to.

"No, I don't think so." Grissom understood. "Keep digging all around here guys." Grissom called to the diggers who had taken a break for Grissom to inspect the wood. "This isn't the only piece, there's more to the right of it." Mumbles of replies came from the diggers as they grabbed their shovels and began digging.

"So it's not…" Brass clarified when Grissom came back over to stand beside him

"Nope." Grissom shook his head with a sigh of relief. As far as they knew, Catherine and Sara were still alive.

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"Ugh." Sara moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Everything was dark and blurry. Where was she, and why couldn't she get up? She heard movement coming from behind her, but she had no idea what it was. She struggled to sit up and then looked around trying to focus in on something. She was leaning against a wall, and there was movement to her right. She heard a faint noise coming from above her, and a repetitive noise to her right obviously caused by the movement. She looked around a few more times, but still nothing was focusing. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to remember what happened before she went to sleep. All she could think about was when she was raped all those years ago, which was weird because she hadn't thought about it for a while really. She thought she was over that. Then she finally focused in on what the movement was. It was a man punching and kicking an object, but what was it? She focused as hard as she could, and then tried to keep from screaming. Memory came flooding back into her head as she saw Catherine's lifeless body being hit by this man, Ryan. She didn't know whether to scream for him to stop, or to be still and fake unconscious in fear that he would start on her again. She debated with herself behind closed eyes for several minutes before making up her mind to scream. She had to. It wasn't fair for Catherine to be taking the beating for her. It was her fault Catherine was there, Catherine just got caught up in a bad situation. A bad situation that was all Sara's fault. She shut her eyes tightly before summoning in a deep breath. She slowly exhaled before taking another deep breath and getting ready to scream…

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"There's someone or something down there!" One of the diggers called to Brass, who motioned for them to stop digging.

"How do you know?" Grissom asked.

"Because we hear something moving." The digger shrugged. Grissom, Warrick and Brass rushed over and Grissom pressed an ear to the wood that had been uncovered. Sure enough, the faint sound of something moving was coming from beneath this wood. Then, just as he removed his ear from the wood, they heard a bloodcurdling scream come from beneath the wood. Grissom looked at Warrick, then at Brass before breaking the silence.

"That was Sara."

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A/N: Sorry that I took so long to update, and such a short chapter at that, but I've been busy, and sick and ugh. Anyways, I'll try to get the next chap up soon! What do you think?


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8:

A/N: Thanks a ton for all the reviews! I'm glad that everyone likes this!

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Ryan spun around as soon as he heard Sara scream. He stalked over, angrier than ever from being distracted from abusing Catherine and slapped Sara across the face. "You shut up, you hear me? I will kill both of you if you make another noise." Sara stopped screaming. She would have kept screaming if he had only threatened to kill her, and he knew that. That's why he threatened to kill Catherine too. He knew Sara screamed as soon as she woke up just to distract him from Catherine, and he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of controlling him. He didn't let anyone control him. He smiled smugly at Sara before turning his attention back to Catherine. This was even better. Not only did he have the satisfaction of having control over both women, but Sara had to sit quietly and watch and listen while he did something she blamed herself for. This was the best attack he'd ever made; he'd remember this one forever.

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Sara didn't know what to do. She had no reason to scream again, the only reason she'd done it was so that he'd stop hurting Catherine and hurt her, since it was her fault Catherine was here in the first place, but he'd already ensured her that he wasn't going to stop hurting Catherine, and he'd kill them both if she didn't stop screaming. She had to sit there and if not watch, at least listen to what he was doing to Catherine, and it was all her fault. She was determined not to let the tears fall. He already had complete power over her speech, why give him power over her emotions too? Well, he already had it, but she wasn't going to let him know. She squeezed her eyes shut and only then did her body remind her of exactly how much pain she was in. It took everything she was worth not to scream out in agony. She could no longer keep the tears in; they rolled freely down her face. She was careful not to sob in hopes that he wouldn't notice her crying, but she had to cry. It was the only way to vent her physical and emotional pain without making a sound.

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"We have got to get down there, now!" Grissom shouted louder than Brass or Warrick knew he could. The diggers jumped the slightest bit, grabbed their shovels and got back to work. "I want that wood off and men down into that room as soon as it's remotely possible, lives are at stake here people." Mumbles and nods from the diggers were all he received as a reply. Grissom stalked away, unable to watch the men scramble to uncover as much wood as possible before the police made their decent. He needed to get to Sara and Catherine before it was too late. He needed them to be alive.

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"Okay, I think we need a plan." Brass announced to Warrick as soon as Grissom had left the area.

"A plan?" Warrick raised his eyebrows, confused at what Brass meant. "If they're in there, they've probably been there for a while… I'd say we just go in…" Brass cut him off.

"I didn't mean about getting Catherine and Sara out, we will, don't worry. What I meant was we need a plan about Grissom." Brass explained, and Warrick nodded.

"Yeah, if we let him down there and Catherine or Sara has even the tiniest scratch on them, Grissom'll probably kill the guy." Warrick agreed.

"Exactly, so what should we do?" Brass returned to the original question.

"I have no clue." Warrick shrugged, sending both men deep into thought. Little did they know that tiny scratches were the least of their problems. They wouldn't need a plan once they saw the damaged inflicted on Catherine and Sara, they themselves would want to kill Ryan Whittle.

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Grissom was foreign to the amount of anger he was experiencing. He didn't know it was humanly possible to be this angry. He was also very much confused at why he was so angry. He had been put in the situation of possibly losing close friends or coworkers or someone who was both before, but it had never hit him like this one had. He would usually throw all his emotion into work, into finding whoever was responsible and making him pay though the evidence, but this time it was different. He wanted nothing more than to go find the guy and kill him with his bare hands, and he didn't know why. When Gil Grissom didn't understand things, especially things about himself, he wasn't happy. He had to think about this reasonably. What would make him feel this way, what emotion was he completely alien to that he could be experiencing towards Catherine or Sara? He didn't have to think long. He knew the answer right away, it just wasn't an answer he wanted to accept. He was in love.

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A/N: Okay, well this chapter is shorter, and I had to make it longer. It was even shorter than this, but I made myself add more haha. I'll try and update soon. Ooo, who does Grissom think he's in love with? Catherine or Sara? Haha.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

A/N: Okay! Please don't kill me yet, wait till you see how it ends! Alright, with that said, onto the next chap, thanks for the reviews!

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"Hey, you guys getting close to done?" Warrick asked the diggers impatiently. He wanted to get to Sara and Catherine, why was it taking so long to dig?

"Yeah, you'll be able to send a team down in approximately three minutes." Someone told him. He nodded his thanks and headed over to tell Brass who was still contemplating a plan to control Grissom.

"Three minutes." Warrick announced.

"Thanks Warrick, we're ready." He nodded, gesturing towards a team standing off to the side. "Is Grissom back yet?"

"He's over there, thinking." Warrick answered. "Want me to go talk to him?"

"If you think you can get through to him. I really don't know what's going on with him; he's never acted like this before." Brass shrugged. Warrick nodded and headed over to talk to Grissom. He was pretty sure he had a theory on why Grissom was so angry…

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How had this happened? Sara didn't know what to do. She was trapped in this room with countless injuries, bleeding, her eyes shut as tightly as her body would allow due to the excruciating pain, listening to Catherine get abused, and it was all her fault. If they did make it out of this alive, what was she going to say? Everyone would hate her for making Catherine go through this, what was she going to do? Even worse, what if she made it out alive, and Catherine didn't? What would happen then? It would be her fault Catherine was dead, everyone would hate her, and Lindsay wouldn't have a mother. She had to stop Ryan, she had to do something. It really didn't matter to her if she died anymore, she probably wouldn't have any friends or a job after she got out of this, everyone would hate her, and it would only be worse for her if Catherine died and she didn't because everyone would blame her. She blamed herself, they should blame her. Why did Ryan have to take Catherine too? Why did he have to do this to her?

"Ryan!" She shouted.

"Shut up bitch!" He screamed at her, barley taking his eye off Catherine for a second. He hated being interrupted, and it was the second time Sara had interrupted him. He was done with Catherine anyways now, she was barley alive, and he didn't really want to kill her, if he killed her, she couldn't suffer, she couldn't remember him. She was already so bruised, so hurt, he was barley doing anymore damage no matter how hard he kicked or punched or pushed now, but Sara, she was just asking for more. He had been planning on leaving them to suffer, leaving them for their CSI friends to find, but she had to call his name.

Sara didn't know what to say. Nothing she did was going to distract him from hurting Catherine, it seemed. Just as she thought that nothing would distract him, he stopped. She held her breath, waiting for him to continue hurting her friend, but he didn't. Then he slowly turned and approached Sara. She screamed as he raised his fist. She had distracted him finally, and now she was going to pay…

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"Hey Brass, we heard more screaming, and a bit of talking." The head digger, Jonathon, called out. Brass got up and walked over.

"Man or a woman's voice? Could you tell?" He asked.

"Uh, the scream was definitely a woman's." Jonathan answered.

"Good, so one of them is still alive, at the very least." Brass sighed under his breath.

"We can lift up the wood now, if you have a team ready to go in." Jonathan announced with a smile of encouragement. He could tell that these missing CSIs were more than co-workers; they were close friends, to these people. He hoped they got out alive.

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"Grissom?" Warrick asked as he leaned up against the tree beside his boss.

"Hey Warrick." Grissom sighed. Grissom was completely lost in thought. What would he do if she was dead? What would he do if he never got to tell her?

"You okay?" Warrick asked, visibly concerned. Grissom tried a smile, but lousily failed.

"No, but I will be, as soon as we get them back." Grissom shrugged.

"Yeah, me too." Warrick agreed. "Brass is worried about you, you know." Warrick told Grissom after a moment of silence.

"Why is he worried about me? He should be worrying about Sara and Cath." Grissom quickly replied. Why was Brass worried about him?

"He is, but he's worried about you too. Says he's never seen you like this before." Warrick explained. Grissom chuckled. Figures, he had never seen himself like this before either. "What's going on Grissom?"

"Catherine and Sara are missing, we're worried, and we're finding them." Grissom explained, trying to make it appear as if it were nothing more. He didn't know if admitting his feelings out loud would help him or not. At this point, it seemed almost anything would.

"No, I meant with you." Warrick probed.

"Oh." Grissom opened his mouth to admit how he was feeling to Warrick in hopes he could help, when they were cut off by Brass's shouts.

"Grissom! Warrick! We're sending them in…" In a split second, both men were on their feet and standing beside Brass. The team got ready as Jonathon and one of his men prepared to pry up the wood…

------ (I was gonna end it there, but I decided I value my life too much…) --

Ryan raised his fist to knock her out, and she screamed again. He hadn't realized how loudly she screamed the first time, but it knocked him off guard. Since he was off guard, he hit her in the nose instead of the temple, and she fell over, but was still conscious. She was staring at him, brown eyes wide and full of terror and pain. He grimaced. Why did Sara Sidle cause him so much trouble? Was it because she was his first victim, or was it something else about her? Maybe because he'd gotten to know her beforehand and she wasn't just a freak like his buddies claimed she'd be. There were a million reasons running through his mind, but he didn't stop to think about them, he let the adrenalin take over. He raised his fist again, and this time there was no scream. He smoothly connected her temple, sending her into an unconscious state. He lost control of his body and let his mind subconsciously enjoy attacking her, well he was enjoying it, until he was yet again interrupted. He spun around, surely Catherine had not woken up yet, it would have been impossible. She hadn't. There were still only three people in the room, and he was the only one that was conscious, but what was that noise? He looked all around, and then he looked up too see strands of light peeking through the boards. He had to get out of there, and fast!

------------

A/N: Another cliffy! I'm sorry, I can't help myself… don't hate me! Haha, well if you'd like to, go ahead. Please review and tell me what you think! I'll try to post another one a.s.a.p! Hope you enjoyed it!


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

"Alright, I know we have our hopes up, but there is a chance…" Brass started before being cut off by Grissom.

"We know Brass; we've done this before too." Grissom sighed, annoyed Brass was treating him this way, and the fact he didn't want to hear the painful obvious stated out loud.

"Sorry." Brass shrugged. Warrick glanced around nervously. Why was it taking so long to pry up these boards? "Almost done there?" Brass asked the diggers who were prying open the wood.

"Yep, should be done right about… now." And with that, he toppled over backwards as the wood came apart from the ground. The team immediately started their decent.

"Clear!" Was the only word being spoken below.

"Damn it." Warrick cursed rather loudly.

"He got away." Grissom muttered.

"We need EMS here, now!" Someone called up. As soon as Grissom and Warrick heard this, they were on the ground by the hole making their decent. They didn't care if Ryan Whittle was still down there, which they knew he wasn't, they needed to see Catherine and Sara. They weren't at all prepared for what they saw.

----------

Grissom stopped dead in his tracks. He could not believe the scene in front of him. Sure, he had been to countless numbers of crime scenes, and again, crime scenes involving the attacks of co-workers and friends, but this one was really hitting him hard. He tried his best to swallow as he took in the scene. There was blood everywhere, splattered on the walls, the ceiling, and most of all, pooling around the bodies of his two female CSI's. They looked dead at first glance, but they were still breathing somehow. They were strong, he knew that, but he didn't think they'd be able to survive this. He didn't know what to do, so he stood dumbly watching as the EMS rushed in and began tending to Sara and Catherine. Catherine looked to be in worse condition than Sara, which made him wonder if their theory about the connection was correct, because if he had come after Sara, why hurt Catherine more than Sara? He wasn't in a logical state of mind right then though, so he decided to stop trying to figure things out. He noticed Warrick had gone to Catherine's side and had clasped onto her hand after checking to see if Sara was okay. He had to do something; he had to go see if they were alright even though he already knew. He didn't trust his brain right now. He somehow got his feet to work and smiled weakly at Warrick who was helping the EMS get Catherine's stretcher out to the ambulance which was waiting up above ground. He made his way over to Sara who was still being looked over for injuries before being moved onto the stretcher. It killed him to look at her. She was paler than ever, her eyes shut with a look of pain on her face. Her hairline was sprinkled with dry blood, and she was bleeding from the back and side of her head. His mind was in another world as he took in her appearance. She was usually so full of life, so down to earth, so … there, but now, it was as if she was gone, and just a breathing corpse remained. The words of her poem rang through his head as they loaded her onto the stretcher. He had subconsciously taken her hand in his, and the EMS told him which hospital they were headed to before they wheeled her away. He just stood there. He couldn't move. He couldn't process thought or make his body move. He couldn't stand to see her like this. He had to admit it, he had to, and then maybe he could function enough to process the crime scene and find Ryan Whittle. He had to do this for her. He needed to be able to tell her next time they spoke that Ryan Whittle was behind bars, and then maybe he could tell her how he felt, then maybe they could move on. He was getting way ahead of himself though; he had to admit it to himself first. 'It isn't that hard, you already know it's true… just formulating the thought.' He told himself. 'Three simple words, Gil, you can do it.'

"I love Sara." He mumbled quietly. Just hearing the words tumble from his lips made him smile. Now he just had to find Ryan Whittle, get him behind bars forever, say those three words to Sara, help her heal, and life would be good.

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"It's going to be okay Cath." Warrick whispered, pushing her hair out of her face. She was going to be okay though, he wasn't lying to her. The EMS told him that as long as she got into surgery as soon as possible, which she was going to, she'd be fine.

"She your girlfriend?" One of the EMS asked him. Warrick was startled out of his thoughts.

"Uh, girlfriend? No." He sighed.

"She's pretty." He observed.

"Beautiful." Warrick agreed. He tried to smile, and brush the crazy idea away. Cath, his girlfriend? It was crazy, wasn't it? No, not the slightest bit. 'You're in love with her.' He told himself. He didn't notice that the ambulance had driven away until his cell phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts and wiping the silly smile off his face.

"Yeah?" He sighed into the phone.

"Warrick, what's going on man?" Nick's voice filled his ears.

"Hey Nick, we have Sara and Catherine." He heard Nick breathe a sigh of relief.

"So they're alright?" He asked.

"I wouldn't use the word alright… they're in pretty bad shape, but they will be alright in time." Warrick explained.

"And you got the bastard that did this?" Nick asked with much force.

"He wasn't there. I guess Grissom will want you guys to come process… I don't know where he got to…"

"If he calls, we're there."

"Alright, see yeah." Warrick shrugged, shutting the phone. He wasn't registering much around him as he plunged back into his confusing thoughts. What was he supposed to do now? He finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Catherine, but at the worst possible time. She was going into surgery and she could be unconscious for a while. Then the most productive thought he'd had since they found Catherine and Sara popped into his head. Lindsay. He wasn't the only one who needed Catherine to be alright, her daughter was sitting somewhere waiting for an answer on whether or not she was going to lose her only living parent. He grabbed his phone and dialed Lindsay's cell. He was glad Catherine had to use it to call her yesterday or else he wouldn't have the number.

"Hello?" An anxious Lindsay spoke into the phone.

"Hey Linds, its Warrick." He told her.

"Hi Warrick, did you find my Mom?" She asked quickly her voice filled with such hope. He was glad he didn't have to break her heart with bad news.

"Yeah we did sweetie. The ambulance took her to the hospital, she's going into surgery but she'll be just fine." He reassured her.

"And Sara?" Lindsay asked. Warrick smiled. She was so much like her Mom, naturally caring and looking out for everyone else.

"She'll be alright too." Warrick answered.

"Okay, thanks for calling Warrick." Lindsay sighed.

"No problem, do you want a ride to the hospital?" Warrick asked. He knew that Lindsay would be the first person Catherine would want to see when she woke up, and he wanted to make both girls happy.

"Sure, I'm at home." She told him, glad he was taking her.

"Okay, see you in a few minutes Linds." Warrick nodded.

"Bye Warrick." She shut the phone with a sigh of relief. Everything was over, everything would be okay.

------------

Grissom finally snapped into reality. They needed to process the scene and find Ryan Whittle right away. He grabbed his phone and dialed Nick's number.

"Stokes." Nick said into the phone.

"I need you and Greg here to process the scene as soon as you can get here okay?" Grissom asked before shutting the phone and heading to his car to get his kit.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Grissom?" Greg questioned seeing the confused look on Nick's face.

"Yeah, he told us to get there as soon as we could and hung up." Nick informed Greg.

"Let's go then." Greg grabbed his kit and followed Nick to his car.

"This is going to be a hard scene to process." Nick told Greg with a serious look.

"I know, of course it will be, I mean, Catherine and Sara are the victims and they're two of our good friends, but at least they're alive right?" Greg pointed out.

"Yeah." Nick nodded glad Greg was staying on the positive side of things. But really, he didn't know what they should be prepared for. Warrick sounded pretty out of it as did Grissom, how much damage did Ryan Whittle cause and where the hell was he?

"I guess no matter how hard it is, we just keep telling ourselves they're alive, and we have to concentrate because that's the only way we're going to make him pay, and we will make him pay." Greg continued, very aggressively accenting the last few words of the sentence. Nick knew Greg was just as furious as he was, but he sure knew how to handle the anger. He figured neither Greg's nor his anger compare to what Warrick and Grissom were experiencing. Deny it if they must, but everyone could tell that Grissom was completely in love with Sara, Warrick likewise Catherine. "So Warrick and Grissom are taking it pretty hard?" Greg more or less stated.

"Yeah, but you know they're in love with those girls in a more than friendly way." Nick shook his head.

"They're just too ignorant to admit it." Greg finished the thought.

"Exactly, but maybe after this, they'll realize that life's too short and they have to tell those girls how they feel." Nick adopted Greg's hopeful thinking.

"Yeah, maybe." Greg shrugged as they pulled up to the scene. There were police cars everywhere, they saw Brass giving out orders, but couldn't make out Grissom or Warrick amidst the mess. They got out of the car and walked towards the scene. First dodging reporters and their questions then police officers until they made it to the hole. They descended and the sight knocked the wind right out of Nick, evidently doing the same to Greg as he could see out of the corner of his eye. There was blood everywhere, large amounts of it too.

"How… they're…" Greg stuttered.

"Lots of blood, I know." Grissom nodded calmly from a dark corner, making both Nick and Greg jump. "Sorry." He shrugged, standing up and walking towards them. Nick shook his head. Grissom looked fine now, completely under control. Did this really not affect him at all?

"But they're okay right?" Greg needed confirmation after seeing all the blood loss.

"Got to them just in time." Grissom nodded.

"Lucky." Nick added in. Grissom and Greg nodded they're agreement.

"They gave us quite the scare." Grissom stated before getting back to work. Nick and Greg grabbed their kits and started taking samples of the blood.

"Who's going to collect evidence off the girls?" Greg asked after minutes of silent work.

"Catherine's in surgery, Sara will be going in the morning." Grissom told them. "Someone should go get evidence from Sara before she has her surgery, I don't know if she'll be awake or not, I haven't heard anything on her condition. We can get whatever evidence, if any, is left off of Catherine in the morning."

"Where's Warrick?" Nick asked, hoping if Grissom wasn't going to admit he was in love with Sara, or admit he cared about this more than any other job, at least Warrick would.

"Couldn't tell you." Grissom shrugged. Nick and Greg exchanged glances of mixed emotions. Confusion, doubt, and anger. Not only were they angrier than hell with Ryan Whittle, but they were also angry with Grissom for pretending not to care, Why did he have to be such a jerk about his feelings?

"I'm gonna call him and see where he's at…" Nick mumbled before climbing out of the hole.

------------

Warrick got out of his car and walked up Catherine's driveway. He hadn't even made it onto the porch by the time Lindsay was in his arms. Her eyes were red and puffy and he could tell she'd been crying almost the entire time her mother had been missing. He held her tightly to let her know everything would be okay, and soon, tears were escaping his eyes as well. They stood there, Lindsay wrapped up in Warrick's arms, crying into his shoulder, and Warrick letting tears fall into Lindsay's hair, for a few minutes before they silently got into Warrick's car. The peaceful silence was broken by the ringing of Warrick's cell phone.

"Yeah," He answered.

"Hey Warrick, its Nick." Nick's voice filled his ear, "I was just wondering where you were…"

"Oh sorry…" Warrick started, "Lindsay and I are on our way to the hospital. We want to be there when Cath wakes up."

"Sure." Nick understood and was silently cheering in his head. Warrick was finally acting on his feelings, now if only Grissom would… "We've got everything under control, but would you mind getting evidence off Sara when you're there? That way we can stay here…"

"Sure, see you." Warrick nodded before shutting the phone. "You know Lindsay," He started. He needed to prepare her for what she'd see when she saw her Mom. "You're Mom got hurt pretty bad, and she's in surgery now, and she'll be fine, but she won't look like she normally does, okay sweetie?"

"I know." Lindsay nodded. She knew Warrick was just looking out for her, but she knew what to except. Her mom would have wires and wouldn't look like herself at all. "She just needs us to be there for her, we just need to let her know we love her."

"Yeah, we just need to let her know we love her." Warrick repeated with a smile. He was planning to do just that.

------------

"Warrick has Lindsay; they're on their way to the hospital now. He's going to get what he can from Sara." Nick told Grissom and Greg when he returned from his call.

"I didn't even think of that." Grissom mentally kicked himself. How had he been so selfish thinking about how only he felt? How could he have forgotten about Lindsay? She was probably worried sick about her mother, she could have become parentless today for god sakes! He needed to get to that hospital; he wasn't getting any work done really anyways. He had said the words out loud, but he had to tell her how he felt, and soon. "I'm going to the hospital." Grissom announced before heading off. Nick and Greg exchanged glances again. Grissom was acting very strange. First, Warrick tells them that Grissom's pretty upset, then they get here, and he's perfectly unfazed and fine, and now he's running to the hospital?

"Let's just hope everything works out in the end." Nick shrugged as they continued to collect the evidence.

"Well, Ryan Whittle was definitely not a newbie to this." Greg observed. "He hardly left any evidence…"

"Except what he left purposely. He's so certain we'll never catch him he left us a confession on tape."

"Talk about conceded." Greg rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well let's burst his bubble." Nick shook his head.

----------

"We're here to see Catherine Willows." Warrick told the receptionist.

"Yes, she's in surgery right now." The receptionist told them knowingly.

"I know." Warrick nodded, trying his best not to get frustrated, "But which waiting room should we go to?"

"Oh, let me see…" The woman started to think. 'Great, we got the slowest receptionist known to man.' Warrick thought. "Here I'll show you." She finally came up with an idea. She got out of her chair, and led Warrick and Lindsay down hallways and through doors until they reached a tiny waiting room. They looked around figuring they'd be getting all to familiar with this space in the next day or so. It was white like most hospitals, with two navy blue strips lining the walls. It had that oh so pleasant hospital smell, several navy blue chairs and a couch, plus two vending machines. A small table with a stack of very boring magazines sat against one wall. Warrick and Lindsay made themselves comfortable.

"I was really scared, you know?" Lindsay whispered to Warrick. They had settled on the couch. Warrick was leaning against the arm and Lindsay was leaning against Warrick.

"Yeah, me too." Warrick nodded. He was glad Lindsay felt comfortable with him and would so easily tell him things.

"I don't know what would have happened to me if she wouldn't have made it." Lindsay continued, tears now sliding down her cheeks.

"Its okay, it's okay." Warrick tried to calm her down. "She made it, she'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen to you, alright? You know that we wouldn't let anything happen to you ever."

"Okay." Lindsay sniffled. "When will Mom be out of surgery?"

"I'm not sure, it depends." Warrick answered.

"On what?" Warrick had to keep from chuckling. Lindsay was so curious, so innocent.

"Well, just how smoothly everything goes, and the extent of her injuries." Warrick explained. "Just try and get some rest." He felt Lindsay nod against his shoulder, and listened as her breathing regulated into a sleeping pattern. He was completely lost in thought, and before long, he fell asleep as well.

----------

After Grissom finally got the receptionist to show him where Warrick and Lindsay were waiting and she led him down through the halls, getting lost on more than one occasion he shook his head at the sight he saw. Both Lindsay and Warrick were sound asleep, Lindsay using Warrick as a pillow, and Warrick had his arm around Lindsay. If he hadn't known them, he would not have had a second thought about labeling them father and daughter. He knew it would make Catherine happier than anything to see this, and was glad he had brought his kit, just in case there was a chance Warrick forgot in the heat of the moment, or was too busy with Lindsay, or just hadn't got around to collecting evidence from Sara yet. He pulled out the camera and snapped a few pictures. Luckily, the flash didn't wake either of the two sleepers up, and he decided to go looking for Sara. He went up an elevator so he wouldn't have to go back to the receptionist on that floor to get directions to Sara's room.

"Excuse me, miss?" He asked one of the nurses.

"How can I help you?" She asked with a friendly smile.

"I'm looking for a Sara Sidle?"

"Ms. Sidle isn't allowed any visitors at this time sir, I'm sorry." The nurse looked like she sincerely meant it. Luckily, he had a badge which did come in useful at times like these.

"I'm with the crime lab." He smiled, showing her his proof.

"Oh, sorry Mr. Grissom, right this way." Her smile showed a bit of embarrassment now.

"Alright, thanks." He nodded at the woman as she walked away. He looked in the window. She was still unconscious, but she looked a bit better if you ignored the wires going in and out of her body in various places. A bit of her usual colour had been restored to her face and she looked less limp, but that could be because she was in the hospital bed… He pushed open the door and went inside. He didn't think he'd get much evidence off of her really, her clothes, yes, but she didn't have her clothes with her, obviously. "Hey Sara, you had me really worried there for a while, you know?" He told her with a smile. "I have to admit… after I heard that tape, I began having my doubts, but I shouldn't have. You and Catherine are the two strongest women I've ever met, you know that?" He let a small chuckle escape his lips. "Oh, and by the way, I loved your poem." He saw her move the slightest bit and he grabbed onto her hand. "Sara? Honey, wake up!" He whispered to her. She moved her head, and he knew he should call the doctor, but he needed to talk to her first. "Sara?"

"Grissom?" She asked, her voice a cracked whisper.

"It's okay honey, it's all over now." He told her, embracing her in a hug before putting a finger over her lips to tell her not to try talking again and going to get the doctor.

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A/N: Not so much cliff hangers anymore, but there's still some excitement I hope! How does everyone like it? Review and tell me, please! I thrive on feedback haha lots of positive feedback means faster updates, but right now, I should get off to bed, school tomorrow, ugh! But, last week of school before summer holidays, and by the way, I am either just going to keep going through here in this story, or writing a sequel, is there one you prefer? I guess there isn't much difference, haha anyone have any opinions on whether or not I should just go PART TWO: or start a whole new story? Haha, k, Ttyl. BTW, Part two is going to be happy and Christmassy! Is anyone even interested in that?


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

A/N: So it's two in the morning and I feel like I'm going to throw up. Oh, I will have fun at school tomorrow, yes, yes. Well here is the next chap! PS: Still wondering about questions at the end of chapter 11… any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

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"We've got nothing." Greg sighed, "Well, we have a lot of blood, all of it Sara or Catherine's, no sign of a getaway car anywhere, nothing to tell us where the hell Ryan Whittle went."

"This guy is good." Nick agreed, "I wonder how many other crimes like this he's done?"

"Lots, I would say. He's good, really good." Greg guessed.

"Thanks for the insight, genius." Nick snickered.

"No problem." Greg smiled. "Okay, we're getting no where. Up for a hospital visit?"

"Greg is there really any point of going there and crowding the waiting rooms, I mean they would have called if something changed…" Nick pointed out.

"Not necessarily, both Grissom and Warrick are in a weird state of mind right now." Greg argued.

"Fine, let's go." Nick gave in. He really did want to go see Cath and Sara; he just didn't want to get in the way.

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"Is she alright?" Grissom asked the doctor as soon as he left Sara's room.

"She'll be just fine. We'll re-evaluate in the morning, surgery may not be necessary."

"Great." Grissom smiled. "Can I go in…?"

"Sure." The doctor nodded.

"Thanks." Grissom replied before opening the door and stepping inside the room. Sara's eyes were open now, and she watched him intently as he approached the bed and sat down on the chair beside it. Would he hate her for putting Catherine in so much danger? Would she lose her job? There were millions of thoughts running through her pounding head, and she couldn't keep it all straight. "Hey." Grissom spoke quietly. Sara didn't say anything. He didn't seem angry, but then again, Grissom hardly showed emotion. "How are you feeling?" Sara shrugged her shoulders, still not wanting to say anything. She wanted to know what the extents of her injuries were, but immediately started feeling guilty. Was Catherine even alive?

"Catherine?" Sara whispered hoarsely.

"She's in surgery, she'll be fine, don't worry Sara." Grissom reassured her. "How are you feeling?" Sara just shrugged again. Grissom didn't know what to do. She was acting so unlike the Sara Sidle he knew… how did he get her to talk to him? She couldn't hold in the guilt any longer and a tear slipped down her cheek. Grissom noticed and embraced her in a hug. "Its okay sweetie, everything's alright, you're fine." He reassured her.

"But it's all my fault." She protested, letting more tears fall down onto the hospital sheets.

"What's all your fault?" Grissom asked, looking confused. He didn't know it was her fault yet. That's why he was being so nice, still caring about her. This only made her tears fall faster than before.

"Didn't Ryan tell you?" She shuttered upon speaking his name.

"We… uh, didn't catch him yet." Grissom told her, looking embarrassed, angry and scared at the same time.

"Oh." Sara sighed. With her luck, he'd probably come after her again, and again until he was finally put in jail. She deserved it too, as long as Catherine, or anyone else, wasn't with her next time it happened.

"I'm sorry; we're doing everything we can…" Grissom continued.

"No Grissom, it's alright." Sara shrugged. How could he think that any of this was his fault? It wasn't anyone's fault but her own.

"No, it's not alright. He hurt you Sara, he could have killed you! We need to find him; we need to make him pay for what he did." Grissom pressed on. Sara shut her eyes and desperately tried to stop the tears. "He hurt you and Catherine, and he already has a prior of sexual assault." Grissom informed Sara. Sara's eyes widened at the comment about sexual assault.

"Don't worry; he didn't sexually assault you or Catherine." Grissom reassured her, assuming her eyes went wide with fear at the mention of the sexual assault charge because she feared one had been committed against Catherine or herself, or both.

"That's not it." She shook her head.

"What's wrong, honey?" He asked. There was something more than he knew and he needed to know what it was, he needed to help Sara.

"I… everything is just my fault, okay? I'm the only one that should be punished, I'm the only one that did something wrong." Sara whispered harshly, more tears threatening to fall.

"Sara, you did nothing wrong, none of this was your fault, you couldn't have done anything to stop it." Grissom reassured her.

"No!" She spoke louder now, "You don't understand." She shook her head wiping tears away before they could fall from her eyes.

"I'm trying to, Sara, I want to understand, can you help me to?"

"I… I'll try." She told him. He reached over and took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. He hoped she'd tell him, he hoped he'd be able to help.

"The reason it's my fault is… he was after me. Catherine was just there, she was just with me, she shouldn't have gotten hurt, and she got hurt worse than me. It's all my fault and it isn't fair. This wasn't supposed to happen." Sara blurted out, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face once again. Grissom was very confused, but knew it wasn't uncommon for victims to blame themselves, and he had to remember, Sara was a victim, not her normal self.

"Sara, sweetie, it was not your fault. It was Ryan Whittle's fault. He didn't have to attack you girls, he didn't have to do any of it. You didn't provoke him, you didn't ask him to. He is the only one at fault here."

"See? You don't understand." Sara shook her head, mentally kicking herself for even trying to explain it to Grissom.

"Sara, I swear to you, it isn't your fault. How many times have you tried to convince a victim the same thing I'm trying to convince you now?" Grissom tried to get her to understand, to think about things rationally.

"This is different." She told him.

"How?" Grissom wondered aloud, hoping she'd give him an answer.

"I… can't tell you." She wiped some more tears away.

"Why not?" He asked another question.

"Because I can't." She shrugged, as if it was the most logical explanation. Grissom decided to let it go for now. Sara just needed someone to be with her as a friend, not someone to interrogate her as a witness.

"Okay." Grissom nodded, taking her hand back in his, rubbing his thumb gently up and down over her hand. She let a few more sobs escape her before she drifted into a nightmare about Ryan Whittle, a nightmare she was all too familiar with, and had lived, twice.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 12

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I have this story vaguely planned out in my mind… and I hope you don't kill me for the way it is going haha. Don't freak out until you've read it to the very, very end okay? This chapter isn't like that though, just a warning for future chapters…

And to reviewer me… I think that was the name haha anyways, you suggested I have Ryan tape Sara's story thing… he did, Grissom heard the tape in Nick's car, I don't know maybe that part was confusing, but he did.

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"Excuse me?" Nick politely asked a nurse walking by as they entered the hospital. She turned around and smiled at him, obviously his southern charm wasn't lost on her. "Could you tell me where a Catherine Willows or a Sara Sidle is staying?"

"Ms. Sidle is on the second floor, room 224, and Ms. Willows is in surgery on the fourth floor." The nurse told Nick still smiling girlishly at him.

"Thanks for you help, miss." Nick smiled before walking off.

"I guess we'll go check on Sara, first?" Greg suggested the obvious choice seeing as Catherine was in surgery.

"Yeah." Nick nodded. They walked down the hall and into an elevator and down another hall until they were outside room 224. They saw Grissom sitting on the chair beside the bed with Sara's hand in his.

"It's so painfully obvious." Greg sighed with a hint of a smile. Then Sara shifted in the bed, startling both men.

"She's awake!" Nick exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, that's great." Greg nodded, his hint of a smile breaking into a grin. "But why don't we go see how Warrick and Lindsay are doing and leave these two alone for a while?" Greg suggested.

"Good idea." Nick agreed. They walked down throughout the hospital until they reached the surgical wing. "There's got to be at least three waiting rooms in this wing." Nick observed, wondering which one Warrick and Lindsay were waiting in. He walked one way, Greg another.

"Stokes, over here." Greg hissed. Nick walked over to where Greg was standing, not quite sure why he was hissing at him. "Got to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen, definitely the cutest thing I've seen Warrick do." Greg half laughed good heartedly, half snickered.

"Yeah." Nick nodded. Lindsay and Warrick looked like father and daughter, and Nick wondered if they ever legally would be. Crazier things had happened, that was for sure.

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"How long was I asleep?" Sara asked in a sleepy, croaky voice.

"Fifteen minute or so." Grissom shrugged. Sara groaned. She couldn't even sleep for a half hour before the nightmares woke her up. They were worse now than they'd ever been. After her last attack, it had taken her months to be able to sleep even halfway through the night again, but now she had all of those memories haunting her, plus all the new ones. That along with the blame she pushed upon herself over the memories Catherine would be suffering from would make this recovery period very long and very difficult.

"What's wrong with me?" Sara asked Grissom. She half hoped it was nothing serious, and she'd be back to work in no time, if she still had a job after they found out why it happened to Catherine and not just her, that is. But the other half of her hoped that she had some terrible injury worse than what Catherine was going through, because if she did, she wouldn't feel so guilty. The flash backs she was having from the attacks told her that she was more verbally abused and Catherine was more physically abused, but she hoped she was wrong, but then again, Catherine was in surgery, and she wasn't, so there was a good chance she was right.

"I'm not exactly sure. The doctor mentioned something about a concussion, you broke your right arm in three places, our left arm in two places, you've got back damage, but not anything too significant, it will heal with time, sprained ankle, 20 stitches in your head, and that's all I'm sure about right now. He hurt you pretty bad, Sar." Grissom told her quietly, not meeting her eyes while he said it.

"I know." She nodded, "What about Catherine?"

"Catherine I'm not too sure about. To tell you the truth, I was more worried about you, I let Warrick handle worrying about Catherine, he's doing a very nice job of it too, I might add." Grissom hoped that hearing that would cheer her up, either the part about him worrying about her more than Catherine, or about Warrick and Catherine. He just wanted to make her feel better.

"Why were you worried about me? You should have been worried about Catherine." Sara told him. She was responsible for Catherine being in the hospital in the first place, Catherine should be the one getting all the worry, all the pity, Sara deserved none of it.

"Why would you say that?" Grissom answered with a question. Did she think something was going on between him and Catherine? He hoped not because he really did love her.

"Because of what I told you before. It is my fault that Catherine is even in the hospital, she should be getting all the attention, everyone should be worried about her not me. I'm going to be fine anyways; she's the one in surgery." Sara told him. Grissom sighed. At least she didn't think he was in love with Catherine. But why in the world did she keep saying that this was her fault? It wasn't like her to blame herself for something that she was a victim of.

"Sara, I know you think I don't understand…" He started.

"You don't." She mumbled under her breath.

"Could you try to explain it to me again, from the beginning this time, the very, very beginning?" Grissom hoped she would.

"Fine." Sara sighed, preparing herself for the tears that were about to fall.

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Warrick stirred and was startled when he felt Lindsay using his chest as a pillow. He remembered the events previous to him falling asleep, and relaxed. He didn't want to wake Lindsay so he stayed as still as he could. He turned his head to the right and was startled once again, this time by the presence of Greg and Nick in the chairs beside him.

"Hey." Greg smirked.

"Hey Greg, Nick." Warrick nodded sleepily.

"It's good you're sleeping, man." Nick smiled.

"Any word on Cath?" Warrick asked hopefully.

"Not yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer." Nick told him. Warrick nodded and turned his attention back to Lindsay. It wasn't fair she had to go through so much, first her parents breaking up, then her dad dying, and now this. He really understood how she felt too, after experiencing some things similar to this when he was a young child.

"The nurse thought she was your daughter." Greg piped up after a moment of silence. Nick just shook his head, not knowing what Warrick would say to that. Warrick didn't know what to say. They thought Lindsay was his daughter? Maybe someday, if Cath loved him back, he would be. He smiled at that thought. Cath his wife and Lindsay his daughter.

"Oh." He shrugged, not wanting to share this thought with the class.

"Yeah." Nick nodded with a smile, hoping Warrick was thinking what he thought he was thinking. Judging by the look on his face, he was. "Hey Greg, can you go to the cafeteria and grab us some drinks and stuff?" Nick asked, wanting to talk to Warrick alone without Greg's sometimes childlike interference.

"Sure." Greg nodded and walked off, humming to himself.

"Are you going to tell her, Warrick?" Nick asked, hoping Warrick wouldn't play dumb.

"Yeah." Warrick nodded, understanding fully what Nick meant. "I have to. I came so close to losing her, and the whole time the only thing I could think about was that I needed to find her, and see her and tell her that I love her."

"Good." Nick smiled. He had a strong feeling telling him that Catherine was just as in love with Warrick as he was with her, and Lindsay seemed to like Warrick okay too.

"Warrick?" She mumbled, waking up a bit.

"Hey Linds." He whispered into her hair.

"Is Mom awake yet?" She asked more awake as she remembered the whole situation wasn't just a nightmare.

"Nah, I would have woken you up as soon as she did. Don't worry, alright?"

"Okay. Hi Nick!"

"Hey Lindsay, sleep well?" Nick smiled. He could see Catherine reflecting off this girl in so many ways.

"Ahem, excuse me, are you folks here for Catherine Willows?" A short doctor approached them.

"Yeah." Warrick said, rising to his feet. The doctor took a few steps forward and shook his hand.

"Husband?" The doctor guessed which made Nick smile, Lindsay giggle and Warrick blush.

"Uh, no. We're her friends, we work with her." He gestured to Nick, "And this is her lovely daughter, Lindsay."

"Oh sorry, my mistake." The doctor smiled, embarrassed himself now, "The surgery went exceptionally well, there shouldn't be any complications. She needs to be treated for a few other injuries, most of them very acute. She's being moved back into a hospital room now. You should be able to go and visit her one at a time in about ten minutes, alright?"

"Sure, thank you very much." Nick answered with a smile.

"Which room is it?" Warrick added.

"Oh, sorry, room 228." He smiled, and with that, he was on his way.

"She's right across the hall from Sara." Nick announced, remembering Sara's room number from before.

"How's Sara doing?" Warrick asked, feeling guilty he hadn't thought to ask before.

"She'll be fine. Concussion, a few broken bones, some stitches, but she'll heal up very nicely." Nick repeated what the nurse had told him earlier.

"That's great. She awake?" Warrick questioned further.

"Yeah." Nick nodded.

"Grissom with her?" Warrick smiled, hoping Grissom would admit his feelings towards Sara. They all knew they were there, but it was the same situation Warrick was in. He'd waited so long to tell Catherine, as Grissom had waited, and still was waiting, so long to tell Sara.

"Yeah." Nick smiled as well. He knew Warrick and he were thinking the same thing, and Grissom had better tell Sara how he felt, or they'd have to find some way to make him.

"Have you been to see her yet?" Warrick asked, wondering why they weren't down with Sara instead of waiting for Catherine when before five minutes ago, they hadn't a clue when she'd be out of surgery.

"Well, we went down there, but we thought we'd give them some time." Nick explained.

"I got the snacks and stuff!" Greg called, coming down the hall, hands full.

"Great, thanks Greg." Warrick called back as Greg approached.

"Cath's out of surgery, we can go visit her one at a time in about five minutes." Nick informed Greg.

"That's awesome!" Greg smiled, sitting back down where he had been beside Nick. He knew that Nick had just wanted to talk to Warrick without him there when he asked him to get snacks, and that was confirmed when no one showed any interest in the food.

"Why don't we head up to Sara and Catherine's rooms? We'll be able to see Cath in a few minutes, and we can probably see Sara right away." Warrick suggested as he stood up and took Lindsay's hand.

"Sure! I can't wait to see my Mom!" She smiled excitedly. "And I remember what you said before Warrick, do you remember what I said?" She smiled mischievously. She wasn't too young to understand what everyone was talking about. She had woken up around the same time that Warrick had, and heard Nick and Warrick's conversation about the nurse thinking that she was Warrick's daughter. Then the doctor thought that Warrick was married to her mom.

"I remember." He smiled at her before they headed off towards the elevator, Nick and Greg in tow.

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A/N: Once again, thanks for all the reviews! Ugh, I love Christmas, but we got a Christmas tree, but we got the wrong kind, and I'm allergic to it… so I will have an upset stomach, an earache, itchy eyes and ughh all that allergy fun until after Christmas. I hope it doesn't affect my writing haha! Ttyl.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 13

A/N: Thanks to nonamejj18 for that pointer, I'll definitely remember it for future chapters and stories! And thanks to everyone else who is reviewing, I really appreciate the feedback! So, only a few days till Christmas! Is everyone excited? And if Christmas isn't your religion, then just sort of ignore that, and be excited for your holiday! K, onto the chap…

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It had been a few minutes since Grissom asked Sara to try explaining things to him again, but she hadn't said another word. Maybe she'd fallen asleep? She wasn't facing him, and she was breathing deeply.

"Sara?" He whispered.

"Yeah?" She asked. She knew he figured she fell asleep when she didn't tell him everything. She didn't think she could tell him everything, not until she knew Catherine was okay.

"I thought you'd fallen asleep." He smiled.

"Nope." She rolled over to face him, wincing as her weight shifted. Grissom watched helplessly as she moved around in pain, trying to get comfortable. He didn't know what he could do to help; he didn't know why she thought it was her fault when it wasn't. This whole situation was overwhelming him, but he wouldn't leave her. He couldn't.

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"Lindsay, you go in first." Warrick suggested when they reached Catherine's room.

"I want you to go with me, Warrick!" She protested, giving him her best sad little girl look.

"The doctor said one at a time, sweetie." Warrick told her quietly. He knew he'd end up going in anyways, he couldn't resist the look she was giving him, and he really wanted to see Catherine.

"So? I said two at a time." She shrugged, taking his hand and pulling him towards the door.

"Alright." He smiled, "But we have to be quiet, especially if you're Mom's asleep."

"Okay." Lindsay smiled; glad she had gotten her way. Nick and Greg stood a few feet away watching Lindsay and Warrick talking. They looked in the window to see Cath. She was facing away from them, and her body looked worn out. Sara was still awake in the other room, and they figured that was a good sign

"Mom!" Lindsay squealed as she and Warrick entered the room. Catherine looked up and tears started pouring down her cheek as Lindsay climbed up on the hospital bed and gave her a hug.

"Careful," Warrick warned with a smile as Lindsay hugged Catherine. He saw Catherine wince slightly, but knew she didn't mind since she was smiling through the happy tears running down her cheeks.

"Hey guys." Catherine managed to say through her tears.

"Hey Cath." Warrick smiled, trying to restrain his own tears as he thought about how close he'd come to losing her, and that he'd have to tell her that they didn't get Ryan. He sat down the opposite side of the bed to Lindsay, taking Catherine's hand in his.

"They look just like a family." Greg chuckled, "Seriously, everyone's mistaking them for one today."

"Yeah, I noticed that too Greg." Nick rolled his eyes, but Greg was right, they really did look like a family.

"Do you want to go see how Sara's doing? We gave them time to talk, and I don't want her to think we don't care or anything, you know?" Greg suggested hopefully.

"Yeah, sure." Nick nodded as the walked across the hall. He knocked quietly on the door and opened it up.

"Hey." Nick smiled warmly as he entered the room, Greg close behind.

"Hello." Grissom smiled. He was glad that Sara had more visitors; maybe Nick or Greg could get her to talk her out of this weird belief that everything was her fault. He knew it wasn't that weird, he had seen countless victims blame everything on themselves in the most illogical ways, but he never would have expected Sara to do it, then again, who could tell what they'd act like under these circumstances?

"How are you feeling Sara?" Greg asked, but was not sure if it was the right question after it'd left his lips.

"Fine. How's Catherine?" Sara replied with no emotion in her voice.

"Her surgery went really well, she's back in her room, she's good." Nick told her with a reassuring smile.

"Good." Sara breathed a sigh of relief. She felt a little better knowing Catherine would be okay, but she wanted to see her as soon as she could. "Is Lindsay with her now?"

"Yeah, Lindsay and Warrick just went in." Greg nodded. Sara smiled. She was glad that Catherine was with Lindsay and Warric. She thought of how she and Catherine talked about what Ryan might do to Catherine, and how she had warned her that he might put Lindsay in danger. Thank god he hadn't. While she was remembering the horrific events, another thought hit her. The tape. Had anyone heard it yet? She hoped not! She didn't want them to hear her poem if she was still alive… she didn't want anyone to know how she really felt, she had thought she was going to die, that's the only reason she'd read it.

"Are you okay Sara?" Grissom asked worriedly. She had gotten very pale, and didn't look very good.

"Uh, yeah, I'm just thinking." She sighed.

"Care to share?" Greg smiled encouragingly.

"Not really." Sara smiled, trying to act as normal as possible. "I was just, you know, thinking about everything that happened." Three heads nodded in understanding.

"We'll get him Sara, don't worry, he will pay for what he did to you and Catherine." Nick told her.

"Count on it." Grissom added in, Greg nodding vigorously. Sara smiled thankfully at them. She didn't know what Ryan would be doing, but she figured he was planning his next attack. She didn't mean anything to him, she was just an attack, but if that was true, why attack her twice? She tried to clear her mind, but it was impossible.

"Can I see Catherine?" She asked hopefully. Greg shrugged and looked at Nick and Grissom . He didn't know if she could see Catherine, was she able to get a wheelchair? Could she walk? Heck, he didn't know what was wrong with her.

"I'm not sure Sara." Nick told her honestly.

"I'll go find the doctor." Greg suggested with a smile before giving Sara a quick hug and exiting the room. Sara smiled gratefully after Greg and then sighed, trying to get her body to relax in the hospital bed, but it was impossible. She wouldn't relax until she was for herself that Catherine was alright.

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"Do you feel alright, Mom?" Lindsay asked after a minute of comfortable silence. She was sitting up on the bed snuggled up against her mom's side. Warrick was sitting on the other side of the bed holding her mom's hand. She could tell that having Warrick there holding her hand made her Mom feel a lot safer. She wasn't sure what had happened to her Mom exactly, but she had been missing, and then she was in the hospital. She wasn't sure if anyone really knew what happened yet.

"I feel a lot better now that you two are with me, Linds." Catherine smiled at her daughter. She may have been in much physical agony and was still very sleepy from all the drugs she had in her system, but she felt safe with Lindsay on her one side and Warrick on the other. She could get used to it.

"Good." Lindsay smiled. She wanted to ask her mom what happened to her, but she was scared it would upset her mom. She looked at Warrick, but he wasn't looking at her, he was just looking at her Mom, which made her happy. She hoped that Warrick really did love her mom. She was sure her Mom loved Warrick because she had been snooping around in her room one day and she had found a diary that pretty much said it all. She was almost sure that Warrick did really love her Mom because of what he'd said to Nick. Why would he have said it to Nick if he didn't really mean it? But if Warrick loved her Mom, and her Mom loved Warrick, why weren't they together? Why wasn't Warrick her new dad? "Mom…" She started, and then stopped. She wanted to know what happened to her Mom so badly; she wanted to know so she could help make it better, but what if it upset her to talk about it?

"Yeah, Linds?" Catherine smiled encouragingly at her daughter. She had a feeling that Lindsay knew she was in love with Warrick, she had a feeling that most of the lab knew it as well, but Warrick didn't. He didn't love her either, but he was sure an amazing man. He was so thoughtful, bringing Lindsay right to the hospital and taking care of her for her.

"I don't want to upset you… but can you tell me what happened?" Lindsay whispered. She studied her Mom's face carefully, hoping she hadn't made her sad or angry. "I just want to understand so I can help you feel better." She started explaining.

"No its okay, Lindsay. I can tell you." Catherine swallowed the tears. She looked at Lindsay and gave her a weak smile before turning her gaze to Warrick. They locked eyes, and he gave her courage. Courage she hadn't felt in a long time. She needed to tell someone anyways, if she told Warrick, then maybe she wouldn't have to tell the police, maybe he could do it for her. She wished, but highly doubted it. She wouldn't go into detail then anyways. She couldn't tell her daughter about Sara's rape and those sorts of details. She would just tell her the basic outline of things. "Sara and I were working on case. We drove there are got to work. The scene was cleared, and after a while, we were the only ones there. Then we heard a noise and we went downstairs. No one was there. Then some guys came down the stairs behind us, and something was tied over my eyes. We drove for a while, and we got taken someplace. The guy came back, and we got beat up pretty badly." She recounted, eyes shut, but tears still managing to escape. She opened her eyes and tried to smile bravely at her daughter only to find Lindsay had tears running down her cheek as did Warrick. She also observed that Warrick's fists were clenched and he looked pretty angry. She smiled at him, trying to calm him down, and she did. Warrick smiled back. She had an amazing effect on him. A simple smile making all that anger disappear.

"I don't remember anything after that, except for waking up and you coming to see me, and making everything better." Catherine finished, a few more tears escaping as she studied her daughter's tear stained face.

"I'm sorry mom." Lindsay sobbed. She didn't understand why someone would do that to her mom and Sara. Her mom and Sara were so nice to her, they were nice to everyone, their job was helping people… why would someone want to hurt them? It made her angry to think about it, but she channeled her anger into feeling even sadder for her Mom and Sara. She wanted to go visit Sara too, but only after she'd spent some time with her Mom.

"Don't be sorry Linds, everything's fine now, baby." Catherine smiled, running her good arm through Lindsay's hair.

"I love you Mom." Lindsay whispered loud enough for both Warrick and Catherine to hear.

"I love you too Linds." Catherine whispered back. "Why don't you go find Uncle Gil and see how Sara's doing, okay sweetie?"

"Okay Mom, I'll be back soon alright? I love you." Lindsay gave her Mom one last hug, careful not to hurt her, and walked out of the room and across the hall to where Sara's room was. She saw Nick, Sara and Uncle Gil inside.

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Once Lindsay was gone, Catherine let the tears run freely down her cheeks. She hadn't gone into any detail whatsoever during her story and it still made her cry her soul out. Warrick put a protective arm around her as she cried. He hated seeing her this broken. He wanted nothing more than to kill Ryan Whittle for making them go through this, but oh yeah, that was the best part; they couldn't find the bastard.

"Is he gone forever?" Catherine whispered once her sobs had settled into shuddering breaths.

"About that…" Warrick started. He hated how he had to be the one to break the news to her. He hated having to tell her that the man that had caused her and Sara and every one of them so much pain was still not in police custody. Was still not paying for what he did.

"You didn't get him." Catherine sighed. "He's done it enough times to know how to escape." She shrugged.

"He told you about his other victims?" Warrick asked, wide-eyed.

"You haven't heard the tape? Or talked to Sara?" Catherine asked, confused.

"I haven't been to see Sara yet, I was with Lindsay, and now I'm with you." He shrugged, "Grissom was with Sara, and Nick and Greg were around. Nick and Grissom mentioned something about a tape… Nick and Greg took it to the lab to be processed; I haven't heard anything about it other than that."

"Oh." Catherine sighed. Should she tell him about Sara being raped? She doubted Sara would admit to it if she didn't but maybe she should wait and talk to Sara first.

"What was on it?" Warrick wondered out loud.

"Just him threatening us..." Catherine shrugged, not keen on sharing the bit when Sara and herself had said their final goodbyes on a cassette, and not knowing whether or not it was her place to tell him about Sara's poem.

"Damn bastard." Warrick muttered under his breath.

"It's okay Warrick, I don't think he'll come back for us again." Catherine tried to reassure him.

"What do you mean again?" Warrick asked, picking up on the part that didn't fit in Catherine's sentence. It sounded as if they'd been attacked by Ryan Whittle before…

"Never mind." Catherine sighed quickly.

"Please tell me Cath." Warrick pleaded. If this guy had done something to hurt them before… he didn't know what he'd do.

"It's not my place to tell… you should talk to Sara about it." Catherine told him.

"Sara?" He asked, confused more than ever.

"It's not my place to say… she'll explain everything if you ask her to." Catherine told him. Warrick was dying to know. They needed to get Catherine and Sara in the same room, everyone present, and they needed to talk. They needed to know all the facts so they could get Ryan Whittle for the hell he'd caused.

A/N: Not my greatest chapter, but it's something… it'll get better again, I hope! Anyways, I should get off to bed, going earlier and earlier every week, it's about eleven thirty now, this is pretty much the earliest I've gone to bed in months, I'm proud of myself… but it's only because I'm sick. Oh well, that doesn't matter! Two days of school left for me, then I'll be updating like crazy because this is what I love to do on my holidays… fanfiction! Alright, review please and thank you and thank you ever so much to all my wonderful reviewers thus far!


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

A/N: Alright, so this stuff isn't suspenseful or very entertaining at all, but bear through it, it'll get exciting again soon! And do not kill at the way things seem they are turning out! Just wait until the very, very end to decide if you'd like to kill me or not.

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Greg came back to the hallway with the doctor to find Lindsay standing in between the two rooms. "Hey Lindsay, which room are you going to?"

"Sara's" She smiled, glad Greg had come along. She didn't think anyone had heard her knock at the door, and she didn't know if she was allowed to just walk in.

"Alright." Greg smiled, opening the door and letting Lindsay walk in before him.

"Hi Sara." She smiled shyly, standing at the foot of the bed. Sara looked up when she heard Lindsay's voice and almost had a heart attack. Lindsay had been with Catherine, and surely Catherine had to be angry at Sara for the position she'd put her in… and that would mean Lindsay would be angry as well. Sara almost got her mom killed, Lindsay must hate her.

"Hi." Sara whispered dropping her head again. Lindsay was a bit confused. Did Sara not want to see her?

"Are you feeling better?" Lindsay asked Sara as she moved from the foot of the bed to the side of the bed opposite Grissom and Nick.

"A bit." Sara answered, still not able to look at Lindsay.

"That's good." Lindsay tried to smile, but couldn't. It was almost as if Sara was mad at her, but she hadn't done anything to make Sara mad that she could think of. A moment of awkward silence passed. "Are you mad at me Sara?" Lindsay quietly blurted out. She hadn't meant to say it, but she had. Sara looked up immediately and took the young girls hand.

"No Lindsay, of course I'm not mad at you." Sara reassured her with a smile. Catherine had obviously not told Lindsay anything about the whole situation being Sara's fault.

"Okay." Lindsay smiled, relieved.

"How's your Mom doing?" Sara asked, relieved as well. She knew she shouldn't be, but she was glad that for the moment, no one hated her, no one knew yet. She wished they'd never find out, but even if Catherine agreed to keep her secret about her past with Ryan, their friends were crime scene investigators, they would have to work this case, they would have to find out every detail, and Sara knew they would. She knew she'd have to tell them, but she couldn't just yet.

"She's alright. The doctors said she'll be fine in a little while. She's happy with Warrick there with her." Lindsay informed Sara with a bright smile. Sara smiled too, Lindsay's smile was contagious.

"That's great." Sara told Lindsay. "I'm glad she's feeling alright."

"Alright, sorry to interrupt…" The doctor apologized, coming into the room. Everyone smiled at him as he entered the room.

"So can I go across the hall to see Catherine?" Sara asked hopefully. Lindsay hoped she could. She knew her mom would want to talk to Sara, to make sure she was alright and probably talk about things that had happened. Lindsay knew there was more to the brief outline of a story her mom had told her minutes before.

"Well, if we get you situated in this nice wheelchair, you should be able to get there and back with your friends' assistance." He told her. She was really happy she got to go see that Catherine was alright for herself, but also very nervous at the same time. What if Catherine didn't even want to talk to her because of the situation she had put her in? What if Catherine would never talk to her again? What was she going to do then? 'You're getting too far ahead of yourself, Sara.'

"I'm going to quickly explain to you the extent of Ms. Sidle's injuries before we start moving her around, alright?" The doctor smiled.

"Sure." Nick nodded. He realized he didn't really know about Sara's injuries much at all, he wasn't sure if Grissom or even Sara did.

"Okay, it's obvious that you have broken both of your arms. You broke your right arm here, here and here." He gestured to a spot by her wrist, a spot around her elbow and a spot in between. "And your left wrist in two places. You disconnected your right shoulder, fractured your right shoulder, and took some pretty harsh blows to the head. You've got seven stitches right here," He pointed to the general area around her hairline where a few stitches were visible, "Ten stitches in the back of your head, and three above your left ear." Sara sighed. She hated hearing about all the things that were wrong with her. Lindsay was a bit scared. Someone had hurt her Mom and Sara badly, how had they done it, and why? Nick, Greg and Grissom's anger levels were rising with each word the doctor said. Ryan Whittle had done quite a number on Sara, and it seemed as if she had gotten the least of the beating. "You have a bit of damage to your back, mostly muscle strains, nothing that won't heal quickly. You didn't suffer too much damage to the legs, a few ripped muscles, fracture to the ankle, and that's it." He tried to list everything as lightly as he could, but it was quite a list. Nothing that wouldn't heal with time.

"Can I go see Catherine now?" Sara asked, annoyed at the doctor for standing there and telling her every single thing that Ryan Whittle had done to her. She knew he had to tell her, but why right then?

"Sure." He nodded. He watched as Nick and Grissom carefully helped Sara into the chair. Lindsay walked alongside as Grissom pushed her out of the room.

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Catherine didn't know what to do. She had to tell someone, even if it wasn't really her story to tell. She wasn't one to keep secrets. She liked to get things off her chest, to confide in someone, and Warrick was there, and he cared, and he wanted to listen.

"Cath, you can tell me. If you're worried that Ryan will hurt you again if you tell me…" Warrick started in a soft voice, before being interrupted by Catherine.

"More like Sara will hurt me." She half laughed. Warrick smiled. So this was about Sara, not Catherine.

"I don't have to let her know I know." Warrick smiled. He knew Catherine wanted to get whatever this was out there, she just didn't want to hurt Sara even more.

"Alright." Catherine sighed. She figured she'd feel a lot better after she told the story. "So it's like I said before, only we didn't just get kidnapped, well I did, but Sara got hit over the head, she was knocked out and we were thrown in the back of a vehicle…" Catherine recounted the story to Warrick. She paused when she got to the part about Ryan coming back to talk to them. "We heard the doorknob jiggling, and we knew he'd come back. We didn't know it was Ryan then… we didn't know who it was. Well, Sara knew as soon as she saw him, but I didn't have a clue."

"Sara knows him?" Warrick asked. He wasn't in on the Harvard theory that Greg, Nick and Grissom knew about. He didn't know they even had a theory on a connection yet.

"Yeah, I'm getting to that part." Catherine sighed. She hated to think about everything that Sara had been through, and kept to herself. Warrick nodded and squeezed her hand, giving her the courage to continue. "He sat down and decided to tell me Sara's life story." Warrick had to smile at that. "It's not funny!" Catherine told him.

"Sorry, it's just, how would he have a clue about Sara's life story? That girl doesn't tell anyone a thing." Warrick defended himself.

"Just listen, alright?" Warrick nodded and she started up her story once again. "He told me all about Sara's childhood… I'm not going into detail right now, all the small details will come out later, but let's just say it was not at all pleasant or normal. Then, he moved onto her years in Social Services, and then to her university years." Catherine swallowed hard when she said University. She felt like she was telling this story about herself, not Sara. "Ryan and Sara went to university together."

"Oh so that's how they know each other!" Warrick sighed.

"Yeah." Cath nodded. Maybe she wouldn't even tell him the other part yet. She bit her lip in contemplation.

"Tell me the rest." He demanded. He knew there was more from the look on Catherine's face. And, the way she bit her lip was a dead giveaway.

"I really don't want to get into the whole story… but to make it really short, he raped her." Catherine let a few tears slip down her cheek just thinking about it. Warrick was confused. He raped Sara?

"I didn't think we found any physical evidence of a rape, Cath. Are you sure?" Warrick asked quietly, holding her hand tightly.

"No, he didn't rape her then Warrick, he raped her in University." Warrick didn't know what to say. It all made more sense now, the cases that affected Sara so much, he couldn't believe she hadn't said anything.

"I know, I couldn't believe it either, but Sara said it herself." Catherine told Warrick who still couldn't get his mind around the fact.

"And the bastard got away from us again. He's probably been attacking often since University."

"Yeah, I guess." Catherine shrugged. She didn't like talking about this, but she knew she'd have to. She hoped she'd get to see Sara soon, but judging on the way she felt, she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. Maybe Sara would be in better condition. That's when she heard some commotion in the hallway.

"What's that?" Warrick wondered, letting go of Catherine's hand and getting up to see. "So much for the one visitor rule." He chuckled.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

A/N: Alright, well this chapter, Cath and Sara should get to have their talk… some things should be sorted out… and possible start down the road to recovery? But don't worry… the action is no where near finished… just for a few chapters. Thanks for the reviews!

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Lindsay was the first one into her mom's room, and just like the last time, she went immediately over and climbed up on the bed, snuggling up to Catherine. Warrick backed away from the door as Sara was wheeled in by Grissom, Greg and Nick right behind. Both Catherine and Sara had tears slipping down their cheeks when their eyes met. They'd been though hell together, and they needed to talk without the guys, or Lindsay present. "Uh, guys, could I talk with Sara for a few minutes please?" Catherine asked sweetly. They nodded and Lindsay gave her mom another hug before following the men out of the room. Grissom was the last one out and he wheeled Sara so she was right beside the bed and then walked out, shutting the door behind him. Sara didn't know what to say because she didn't know how Catherine felt. She decided on the safest thing she could think of.

"I'm so, so sorry Cath." Sara apologized, a tear slipping down her cheek as she waited for Catherine's reaction. She hoped she wasn't too mad to talk to her, but then again, she had requested to talk to her alone.

"Don't be sorry Sara; none of this is your fault, or my fault. It's Ryan's fault." Catherine reassured her with a smile. She wished she could give her a hug, but both women were rather restrained of movement.

"But it is my fault Cath, it is. Ryan shouldn't have hurt you; he should have just taken me. I was the one he was after, I was the one he wanted to hurt, not you. He only hurt you because you were with me. Can't you see it's my fault?" Sara tried to make Catherine understand.

"Sara Sidle, listen to me. It is not your fault Ryan wanted to attack you. It is not your fault he raped you, it is not your fault he verbally and physically abused us, nothing to do with this is your fault. You've been victimized by him your whole life, and you have to realize that or you will never feel better. If it was your fault, I'd be pissed at you, not trying to make you feel better. You know me, I'd be mad, I wouldn't be here trying to convince you otherwise. It is not your fault and that is the end of this discussion." Catherine told Sara who looked completely shocked but finally started to accept that it really wasn't her fault.

"I was just so worried everyone would hate me for you being in danger…" Sara tried to explain.

"They hate Ryan for putting us both in danger. Trust me Sara, no one, other than you apparently, blames you for any of this in the slightest." Catherine reassured her with a smile. She hoped Sara understood. She would never get better if she was constantly blaming herself for things that weren't her fault. "And I know it's going to be hard for you… but we have to tell them what happened. We have to tell them everything."

"Even about me…" Sara sighed, studying the floor.

"Even about you." Catherine nodded sympathetically. It had to be done, they both knew that. It was the only way they'd ever heal, the only way they'd ever move on. "Want to get it over with?" Sara nodded and let a few tears slip down her cheek while she thought about what they had to tell the guys.

"But do you really want Lindsay to know all of this, Cath?" Sara asked. She wasn't sure if she'd want her daughter to know the details of her kidnapping, beating and friend's rape.

"Yeah, I don't know, I can't really ask her to leave though, it wouldn't' be fair. She hates being treated like a little kid. I don't know, I truly think she can handle it. I mean, she knows what Eddie did to me… I'm sure she's figured out he was cheating on me by now, she's more grown up than I am sometimes, I swear." Catherine shook her head. Sara just nodded and wondered how they were going to get the guys back in.

"Uh, do you think the guys will come back in soon… because I can't push this thing on my own, and you can't get out of bed…" Sara laughed. Although it hurt a bit, it felt good to laugh, very relieving.

"Okay, on the count of three, we yell for them." Catherine giggled.

"They'll probably rush in, thinking something's wrong." Sara pointed out.

"That'll make it funnier." Catherine smiled. Sara nodded. "Kay, one… two… three…Guys!" They yelled as loud as they could, probably disturbing a few other patients on the floor. Seconds later, Warrick, Grissom, Greg and Nick were stumbled into the room with looks of panic on their faces, and Catherine and Sara burst out laughing.

"Hey! We thought you were in trouble, that wasn't very nice!" Greg pouted.

"Oh Greg, we needed someway to get you in here… I mean we're not very mobile at the moment." Sara pointed out. Greg shrugged.

"Okay, so what did you need us for?" Warrick asked.

"We need to tell you what happened. Everything that happened." Catherine swallowed hard. She hadn't even started the story yet, heck, thirty seconds ago she had been laughing, and now, just thinking about what happened in the slightest made her want to cry. She hated being so weak, that's why she was so keen to share what had happened. It was her belief that if you share your problems with others, you'll feel better faster. And she wanted to feel better as fast as she could.

"Are you sure?" Grissom asked, surprised they were so willingly going to share, especially Sara.

"Yeah." Sara nodded, "You may want to make yourselves comfortable."

"And don't interrupt us until the end, please." Catherine added. Everyone nodded and thought about how to get comfortable. Lindsay curled up next to Catherine on her one side, and Warrick sat on her other. Greg leaned against a wall at the foot of the bed, and Nick and Grissom sat in chairs, positioning Sara's wheelchair in between them.

"So it all started this morning… we were off to that rape case…" Catherine started the story. She got to the part where Sara got knocked out and she had something tied over her eyes, and already, Lindsay was crying into her shoulder, the guys all looking like they wanted nothing more than to go kill Ryan, and she hadn't even got to the bad parts yet. She didn't know if she wanted to be anywhere near Grissom when they told him that Sara had been raped, she had no idea what he'd do. Ryan was lucky he wasn't in police custody because even if he didn't get sentenced the death penalty, she was sure one of the guys would personally give it to him. Catherine stopped when she got to the part about Sara waking up in the basement, hoping Sara would continue from there. Their eyes met, and Sara half nodded before wiping away a few tears and taking a few deep breaths.

"Ryan came into the room… Catherine didn't know who he was, but I did. We had no idea what he was going to do… he sat down and started having a regular conversation about nothing in particular… then he decided it would be fun to tell Catherine my life story. He knew every last detail, things I have never told anyone, he knew it all." Sara started sobbing, so Catherine picked up again.

"He told me everything he could. He told me about how Sara's parents didn't want her… how they abused each other and her, how they were always at the hospital, scared, and then how her mother killed her father." Sara was now sobbing way beyond control. Grissom put an arm around her and rubbed circles on her back, trying his best to calm her down. He knew she'd had a rough childhood, she'd told him parts of it before, but it still made him angry to think that someone could hurt Sara like that every time he thought about, and he thought about it a lot.

"Then… he started talking about my university years." Sara swallowed hard. This would be the hardest part to tell, maybe Catherine would do it for her.

"Do you want me to tell this part Sar?" Catherine suggested. She knew how hard it was for her to say it, so she didn't want to think about how hard it must be for Sara. Sara nodded and let a few more sobs escape her. "Okay. I think you guys figured out that the connection between Ryan and us was that he went to university with Sara… but it went deeper than that." Catherine paused for a moment, trying to keep herself from erupting into sobs before she could get this out. Grissom had a million things running through his head. Had Ryan been Sara's boyfriend? Just a friend? An enemy?

"He… they…" Catherine started, not sure how to say it. She knew there was no easy way. "He raped her." She blurted out finally before letting the sobs take over her body. She felt Lindsay gasp beside her and look at Sara who was sobbing harder than Catherine was. Lindsay had never seen her mom or Sara this upset. She hoped they caught this Ryan Whittle man, whoever he was, because he should have to pay for hurting her mom and Sara this much when the didn't deserve any of it. She looked at each of the men in the room. Greg looked unbelievably angry, especially since she had never even seen Greg angry before, he was also so optimistic and happy, but now he looked so angry and helpless. She could tell he wanted to do something to help Sara and Catherine, but didn't know what. Warrick was completely consumed with worry, but it was fueled by anger as well. Nick just looked plain angry, and Uncle Gil looked mostly upset, but he was the hardest to read. Even in the worst situations, Uncle Gil was good at hiding his emotions. Lindsay didn't know how to react. She was scared, mad, sad, but at the same time, relieved it was all over, and she was also proud. She was proud that her Mom and Sara weren't letting this guy get to them, they weren't keeping it all to themselves, they were sharing it, and that took a lot of strength. She was also glad her Mom had let her stay and hear this, because she could handle it, and she didn't want to be treated like a little kid, she needed to understand.

Catherine sighed and tried to stop sobbing. That was all the storytelling they were going to get done at the moment… for the rest of the night anyways. It was pretty self explanatory from that point on anyways… the beatings, the threats, the tape, the rescue… the CSI's and Lindsay could string it all together. It was the initial why that they needed to figure out, and they had.

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A/N: So there is my pathetic attempt at trying to make this boringish part of the story the best it can be, but again, I promise it gets better and more exciting again haha, just bear with me through this part. I'm even going to throw some Christmas stuff in, I'm officially on Christmas holidays now! Yesss! Yeah, so I'll be updating much more frequently! Thanks for the reviews! Ttyl!


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

A/N: Alright, next chapter. I haven't had much writing time lately, I've been doing more reading and hanging out with friends, haha letting friends cut my bangs, very scary haha. Anyways, onto the story, and by the way, thanks a TON for all the reviews!

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"Mom?" Lindsay whispered after a few minutes of silence, if you didn't count the occasional sob or shudder, that is.

"Yeah?" Catherine answered. She hoped that Lindsay wasn't too upset with all this information because she really did think it was the right decision to not keep things from her especially since Ryan hadn't been caught, and who knew what else he'd do to them?

"Is that man gone? Forever?" Lindsay looked at her Mom. Catherine knew that Lindsay expected him to be. She was a very mature little girl, but she couldn't understand everything. She wouldn't understand how someone could get away with doing this to Sara and Catherine.

"Not yet sweetie. You know, sometimes it takes a bit of time to catch bad guys." Catherine explained calmly.

"Oh." Lindsay tried to understand, but she really couldn't. "Will they catch him soon?"

"They'll catch him really soon." Grissom reassured her and Lindsay nodded. The room once again was silent, growing more and more awkward with every passing second.

"So, Nick, we should probably get back to the crime scene and get those samples to the lab." Greg suggested. He didn't want to leave Catherine or Sara because they needed all the support they could get, but their job wasn't going to do itself. Someone had to go to the crime scene and process and find Ryan Whittle, and seeing as Grissom and Warrick held the girls' hearts, they should stay with them.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." Nick nodded. "We'll come by and visit you later on, and if we find anything at all, we'll call right away, alright?"

"Sure." Grissom agreed, grateful to Nick and Greg for going and processing the scene so he and Warrick could stay for the moment.

"We'll catch him, don't worry." Greg smiled before giving Catherine and Sara each a hug and walking out of the room, Nick doing the same close afterwards. The room once again was filled with a deafening silence, the only difference being Nick and Greg's absence. The awkward moment was ended this time by a knock at the door.

"Hey guys, Sara has to get back to her room now." The doctor announced from the doorway. "We need to examine Catherine some more, and Sara as well. You need to be evaluated to determine whether surgery is necessary on your arm Ms. Sidle." Sara swallowed hard and looked at Grissom, trying to fight down the tears. She despised feeling so weak, so helpless. She couldn't even get across the hall on her own, she needed someone to push her, someone to feed her, she was completely dependant on other people, and for her, that was the worst feeling in the world.

"I'll see you later Cath." Sara smiled.

"Yeah." Catherine nodded as Grissom wheeled Sara towards the door.

"I'll come check in with you later, alright Cath?" Grissom gave Catherine a hug before returning to the doorway to push Sara back to her room.

"Would you mind taking her down the hall to get a drink while I do the check up?" The doctor asked Warrick politely.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Warrick nodded, giving Catherine a hug. Lindsay gave her Mom a half hug, since that was all she could manage without hurting Catherine from that side and a kiss on the cheek before getting up and taking Warrick's hand and following him out of the room. "Do you want a drink Lindsay?" Warrick asked as they shut the door behind them.

"I guess so." She shrugged, holding onto Warrick's hand tightly. Warrick looked down at the girl. He knew she had just been given a lot of information that was hard to process. It was hard for him and the rest of the guys to get their minds around, and they dealt with this stuff everyday, so he couldn't begin to imagine how Lindsay was coping with the information.

"Do you want to talk about all this Lindsay? I know it's a lot of information… and I know you must be scared, and angry and upset, I know I am…" Warrick suggested with hope she'd talk to him and he'd help her feel better. She nodded and they made their way back to the waiting room they'd fallen asleep in earlier that day. Warrick sat down on the couch where he'd been sitting before, but this time, Lindsay climbed right up onto his lap and started crying into his shoulder. He automatically wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back and telling her things would be fine. Things would be fine, eventually. They'd catch Ryan Whittle if it took them a million years, and they'd make sure he never hurt Catherine and Sara again and anyone else if they could help it.

"Why did he have to do this to Sara and my mom? Why them?" Lindsay managed to ask Warrick through the sobs and tears.

"Some people don't have reasons, Linds; some people just can't help themselves." Warrick tried to explain, but knew it wouldn't make any sense to the young girl.

"But their job is to help people like you, Sara and my mom are so nice to me, and everyone they know! Why would he hurt them like this? How could he do this to anyone?" Lindsay sobbed.

"I don't know, honey, I just don't know." Warrick sighed, holding the girl tighter. "But he never will again, not if we can help it." Lindsay kept sobbing for a few minutes. Warrick heard the sobs reduce to sniffles then to even breathing and he knew she'd fallen asleep most likely to be greeted by horrible nightmares of Ryan Whittle hurting Sara and her mom… he wouldn't leave her, or let her go. She needed the support, she needed someone to be there for her because her Mom couldn't right then. He was more than happy to help.

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Sara hated being in the hospital more than anything else in the world. It brought back so many memories that she just wanted to forget. It made her face the fact that her childhood was real, that it had all actually happened to her, and no matter how hard she tried, she'd never be able to forget, to outlive it. She couldn't be independent here, she couldn't do what she needed to do. The only thing that was keeping her sane in the hospital bed was the fact that Grissom was sitting beside her holding her hand. It was making all her fears, all her anxieties, all her annoyances disappear. He was making everything better, and she hoped he wouldn't leave. He had to leave for a few minutes while the doctor checked her injuries again, most specifically her arm. It had hurt like hell, but it was worth it, she didn't need surgery. And, she was well on the road to recovery knowing that Catherine didn't blame her, knowing how angry everyone was at Ryan Whittle, knowing they were going to do whatever it took to catch him.

"Sara?" Grissom asked. He figured she was lost in her thoughts and most likely unpleasant memories to be listening, but he wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Yeah? Sorry… I was just thinking." She explained.

"Sara, it's fine. I was just making sure you're okay." Grissom smiled.

"I'm fine… well I'll be fine eventually." She sighed.

"As soon as we get him, and it'll be soon, don't worry." He reassured her. "Are you in much pain right now?"

"Not too bad, I think the drugs are doing their work." She smiled. He nodded and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes. It had been a long day for both of them, and a few minutes later, Grissom was completely relaxed, watching and observing how beautiful Sara Sidle was when she slept.

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A/N: Okayy, I hope that was alright! This chapter took me longer than normal to write because of all the Christmas stuff going on still. I'm dead tired now which is funny because it's only two in the morning and I'm hardly ever tired at this time, but I've been at a lot of dancing parties lately haha and sleepovers, so I'm running on like two hours sleep today, and tomorrow being New Years Eve and New Years and I'm having a party! O, I want to write a CSI new years short story now, I suck haha I just started a Christmas one and I haven't finished it yet, geeze I'm a loser. Okay anyways, reviews are greatly appreciated!


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, QTR lol, if there's anything left of him when their done… you can have it, and destroy it. Ha, k on with the story now.

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Warrick was still holding a sleeping Lindsay in his arms when the doctor emerged from Catherine's room. "She's improving; the surgery did go exceptionally well, she isn't anywhere near a condition where she can be release, but within a few weeks time if everything goes according to schedule, we can talk about release dates."

"So what are the extents of her injuries, exactly?" Warrick inquired, wanting to know more so he could help her get better more effectively.

"As you probably noticed before, her right arm is broken in seven places, the damage luckily isn't permanent, but it'll be a while before it's useable again. She's also ripped several muscles in her right arm. Her left wrist is sprained, but nothing more. Both of her legs are severely damaged, the right more than the left as in the arms. Right leg is broken, the knee suffered some damage, but again, it'll all heal with time, as all of her physical injuries will. She'll have some pretty nasty scars from the stitches, the surgery and the overall damage that was inflicted on her, but other than that, she'll be as good as new in a few months, physically that is."

"Alright." Warrick nodded, angrier than ever at Ryan Whittle and thinking of just how lucky the guy was that they hadn't caught him yet because he'd go kill him right now if he could.

"Oh, and you can go back in with her now if you'd like, but only for another half hour or so, she needs her sleep." The doctor told Warrick before walking off to tend to another patient. Warrick stood up carefully and slowly, Lindsay still in his arms, and carried her into Catherine's room. Catherine smiled when she saw the sight before her. Her sleeping daughter was being carried by the man she was in love with into her hospital room as soon as the doctor had left.

"Hey Warrick, I see someone got tired." She chuckled. He laid Lindsay down carefully beside Catherine on the bed and sat back down in the chair he'd been sitting in before.

"Yeah, she fell asleep not long after we left the room earlier." He smiled at Lindsay, but only for a second before turning his gaze back to Catherine. How did she still manage to be beautiful as hell, even in the hospital after being brutally attacked?

"It's been a long day." Catherine nodded.

"Unbelievably." Warrick agreed. "She was really worried and upset you know."

"Do you think it was a mistake letting her hear what happened?" Catherine asked, hoping he didn't think she was an awful parent,

"No, she needed to know what happened Cath. She needed to understand, this way she'll be able to help you through it, and you don't have to worry about keeping it a secret. It was the right thing to do. She feels better already, just knowing that you trust her enough to tell her that Cath." Warrick reassured her.

"Yeah, I figured it would be best to just get it all out there, rather than her finding out later and being mad at me for keeping it from her, you know?" Catherine sighed.

"Yeah." Warrick nodded. Catherine then broke down into tears, something she'd been doing all the time over the past few hours. Warrick immediately left the chair and perched on the bed, pulling Catherine into a gentle hug, so he wouldn't' hurt her at all. And that's how they stayed for a long time, Lindsay sleeping quietly beside Warrick and Catherine, who both had tears running down their cheeks and were embraced in the most gentle of embraces, both wishing the moment could last forever, both wishing the other felt the same way as they did, not knowing that it was already true.

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"Let's get to work." Nick sighed as they arrived at the scene. It had quieted down now, most of the reporters dispersed after coming to the realization that no more information was going to be released yet, many of the police officers gone home after it was a certain fact that Ryan Whittle was no where to be found around here.

"Let's." Greg nodded, grabbing his kit and heading towards the hole. The scene hit them not the slightest bit lighter than it had the first time they saw it. It still took their breath away and made their blood run cold thinking of what Ryan Whittle had done to Catherine and Sara.

"Channel it into the work." Nick muttered under his breath while pulling out some swabs to collect blood samples.

"Best thing we can do to help right now." Agreed Greg, who was taking pictures of the scene.

"So this pool of blood right here is Catherine's," Nick asked, looking for conformation from Greg who stopped taking pictures for a moment to see where Nick was pointing.

"Yeah, and that's where Sara was." Greg nodded. "Why did you find something to prove otherwise?"

"Well, there's a dark hair here where Catherine was… and Catherine doesn't have dark hair, and it's too short to be Sara's."

"Must be Ryan Whittle's." Greg shrugged.

"Yeah." Nick nodded, placing the hair in an evidence bag. An hour and a half and not much evidence later, Nick and Greg decided they'd processed the scene to the best of their ability at that moment, seeing as they weren't completely their normal logical selves' right then.

"Let's head back to the lab, make sure the blood's all Catherine and Sara's, make sure that hair's Ryan Whittles and get the prints off that tape, alright?" Nick instructed as he started to climb out of the hole.

"Sounds like a plan." Greg agreed, passing the evidence up to Nick before climbing out himself.

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"No, stop! Don't!" Sara screamed, shifting around in her sleep. Grissom looked up from his chair where he had been falling asleep and immediately started waking Sara up.

"Sara, honey, wake up. It's me, Grissom, everything's fine, everything's over." He told her, as she opened her eyes and the tears started falling, he embraced her in a hug.

"I just keep having the nightmares, first about the first attack so long ago, and then about today… will it ever get better?" Sara wept.

"It will… we're here for you, I'm here for you." He told her, rubbing her back soothingly, "And once we catch him, it'll only make the healing process speed up. Don't worry about it Sara, you're safe now."

"I know Griss, but I'm just so scared, and I know it's dumb…" Sara mumbled.

"It's not dumb Sara, Ryan Whittle hurt you really badly, twice, and he hurt Catherine now too, and he is a horrible person for doing this to you, and all of his other victims… and you have the right to be scared, it was a scary experience." Grissom told her.

"Yeah, I guess." Sara nodded, the tears slowly drying up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Grissom asked quietly.

"I don't know. I do, really, I do… but I don't think I'm ready. Not yet." Sara told him.

"Understandable." Grissom nodded, and then remembered why he had indeed come to the hospital all those hours ago in the first place. "Sara, I know this is a bad time to remember this… but I'm going to have to see if you have any evidence on you…"

"Sure." She nodded, understanding it was his job, and wondering if that was why he had come to the hospital in the first place. Was she crazy for thinking that it was actually because he cared about her enough to see how she was, and to worry about her, more than Catherine even? Or was she over analyzing this situation like she did every other. She sighed and tried, unsuccessfully, to push all thoughts out of her head. She closed her eyes tight, wincing at the pain it caused her, and tried to think of anything that had nothing to do with work, Grissom or Ryan Whittle…

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A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I hope you enjoyed the chapter… I've been having major writing problems lately haha major block, no ideas, I don't know, just putting down everything I've been doing haha, anyways, I got this out, and so if it's a little not as good as other chapters, sorry about that! And, happy new years to everyone!


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

When Lindsay woke up about an hour later, she found her Mom and Warrick had fallen asleep, her Mom in Warrick's arms. They both looked so peaceful and happy… her Mom looked like it was the happiest moment of her life, even though she was in a hospital bed getting treated for being attacked by some crazy man. She didn't want to disturb her Mom and Warrick's sleeping, so she carefully rolled off the bed and debated between sitting on the chair and watching her Mom and Warrick sleep, or going to visit Sara. She decided to go visit Sara because her Mom had her and Warrick who loved her more than anything… but Sara didn't have a daughter to sit with her and make her feel better… and Uncle Gil was with Sara… but Lindsay knew how Uncle Gil could be… she had read that in her Mom's diary as well. She quietly tiptoed out of the room and shut the door behind her. She walked over across the hall. She stopped for a moment and stood up on her toes to look in the window of the room. Sara looked sad, Uncle Gil was still with her… but from what Mom's diary told her, Uncle Gil was too scared to tell Sara that he loved her. Lindsay wanted to go make her happy like her Mom was happy right then, because they both deserved to be happy after such a bad experience. Lindsay knocked on the door and she heard her Uncle Gil tell her to come in. Opening the door, Lindsay walked shyly into the room and climbed up onto the bed beside Sara, giving her a hug, careful not to hurt her or touch her casted arms.

"Hi Sara, are you feeling better?" Lindsay asked in a shy voice. Sara smiled. Lindsay was so thoughtful, coming here to try and make her feel better, and it was working.

"I'm good Lindsay, better now that you're here." Sara told the girl, making sure she knew that she appreciated what Lindsay was doing in comforting her, especially since Grissom wasn't the best at it, although he did try.

"That's good." Lindsay smiled. She loved making people feel better. When she grew up, she wanted to help people just like her Mom and Sara and Uncle Gil and Nick and Warrick and Greg and everyone did. She was so proud to know them, because they went to work every day, knowing that they were risking their lives in some way… and they kept a positive attitude when messes like this happened, and Nick and Greg still went back and were doing their jobs to find the man that did this to her Mom and Sara. Lindsay knew they'd find him because they were good at finding people, it was their job after all, and they hardly ever failed, they'd find him, she knew it.

"What's your Mom doing?" Sara asked Lindsay, trying to make some conversation.

"She's sleeping with Warrick." Lindsay giggled. Sara smiled, glad Warrick was keeping Catherine company. "They looked really happy, and I didn't want to wake them up when I was moving around… so I decided to see how you and Uncle Gil were doing in here." Lindsay explained.

"That was very thoughtful of you Lindsay." Sara told her.

"Thanks." Lindsay replied shyly, she hadn't gotten Catherine's compliment receiving genes, obviously.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Grissom told them, getting up from the chair and leaving the room. He didn't want to leave, but he had to check on Nick and Greg to make sure everything was going alright, and that they didn't need any help, because he didn't want Ecklie firing them all tonight.

"Sure." Sara sighed quietly under her breath as Grissom quickly exited the room.

"Does Uncle Gil make you sad Sara?" Lindsay asked innocently. She knew that Uncle Gil did make Sara sad because it said so in her Mom's diary, but she didn't have to tell Sara that she knew, because maybe Sara didn't want to talk about it. Lindsay knew she shouldn't make Sara feel uncomfortable, as her Mom would put it. Sara didn't know what to say. She couldn't really just tell Lindsay that her Uncle Gil made her that sad, because it wouldn't be right, would it? Then again, Lindsay had just heard the account of how Sara had been raped… and how Catherine and her had been beaten and kidnapped… Sara had the feeling that Lindsay was matured way past her years.

"He does make me sad, Lindsay. But he doesn't mean to." Sara sighed. Lindsay nodded.

"I know, Uncle Gil loves you, you know?" Lindsay smiled. Sara looked surprised to here Lindsay say that.

"Does he now?" Sara laughed.

"Yup!" Lindsay smiled, proud that she had made Sara laugh.

"And how would you know this Ms. Willows?" Sara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, well, if you promise not to tell my Mom, I'll tell you." Lindsay giggled.

"I promise." Sara smiled.

"Well, sometimes when my Mom isn't home and my grandma's downstairs cooking or watching TV, I sneak into my Mom's room, and I read her diary, and it said that Uncle Gil loves you, and everything in there is true you know because it said that my Mom loves Warrick, and she does." Lindsay announced, her eyes wide and filled with innocence, a smile to match playing on her lips.

"I see." Sara smiled. So Catherine was in love with Warrick? That confirmed some suspicions… and probably won someone a great deal of money, she'd guess.

"Yeah, but I'm confused." Lindsay admitted. Sara didn't chuckle verbally, but she did mentally. Lindsay was confused? Of course she was, look at all the information she'd just absorbed tonight, and probably absorbed all the time from reading her Mom's diary, if she wasn't confused it would be very strange.

"About what?" Sara inquired.

"Well, about a few things. First of all, I am confused with my Mom and Warrick, because I heard Warrick tell Nick that he loved my mom… and I know my Mom loves Warrick…so why isn't Warrick my new Dad?" Lindsay asked Sara. Sara didn't know what to say to that.

"Um, well, Linds, I can't tell you for sure," Sara started, trying to keep things as neutral as she could, "But maybe your Mom doesn't know Warrick loves her, or maybe Warrick doesn't know your Mom loves him?" Sara suggested the most likely explanation.

"Oh, well, I guess I'd better tell them when they wake up then." Lindsay decided and Sara's smile grew even more. Her innocence and honesty was almost overwhelming. "But the other thing I'm confused about is why Uncle Gil makes you so sad if he loves you?" Lindsay pressed on. Sara didn't know what she was supposed to say to that, because she herself could not answer that question. If she could, she'd be a much happier person in the long run. Sara didn't get time to think of an answer, however, because Lindsay decided to continue. "Just like my dad loved my mom but he made her cry?" Lindsay suggested, and that almost broke Sara's heart. Lindsay had been through so much at such a young age, very similar to what Sara herself had experienced, but Lindsay was dealing with it far better than Sara had ever dealt with any of her childhood problems. Maybe she'd learn a thing or two from Lindsay.

"Maybe," Sara said quietly, because she didn't know what else to. Sara and Lindsay sat there in silence, Lindsay thinking of how she was going to break it to her mom and Warrick that they were in love, and Sara thinking of the answer to Lindsay's question.

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"Stokes." Nick answered his phone as Greg and he were entering the lab. "Alright, we're good Grissom. Okay, thanks for checking up on everything, later."

"Okay, I'm going to go see what Archie's doing with that tape… you go to see Hodges." Nick instructed Greg who nodded and headed off down the hall.

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Grissom hung up after being reassured by Nick that they had everything under control and headed back towards Sara's room. He paused to look in the window at Catherine's room first to indeed find Catherine asleep in Warrick's arms, just as Lindsay had said. He turned and took the few steps to cross the hallway before knocking and entering Sara's room to find Sara and Lindsay hadn't moved much since he'd left.

"Hey Uncle Gil!" Lindsay smiled and waved as he entered the room and sat on the chair beside where she was sitting on the bed.

"Hey Lindsay, hey Sara." He smiled. "Anything exciting transpire while I was out?"

"What does that mean?" Lindsay whispered to Sara.

"Did anything exciting happen?" Sara whispered back with an amused smile. Grissom didn't know what she was talking about when she made her claims that she'd be a terrible parent… he thought, and knew after seeing her with Lindsay, that she'd be an amazing parent, but he could see where she was coming from with her doubts, due to her childhood and all, but she wasn't her mother, he knew that if he didn't know anything else.

"Well," Lindsay started, and Sara had no idea what she'd tell her Uncle Gil. "Nothing _too _exciting." She smirked, much differently than the innocent smile Sara had seen only minutes beforehand. "Where did you go?"

"I had to go make a call to Nick and Greg, to make sure they were getting along alright at the lab." Grissom explained, pointing to his cell phone.

"Ohhh." Lindsay sighed, as if it made much more sense now. Sara just smiled, as did Grissom. Lindsay was glad she was able to make everyone smile, because that's what she wanted to do. She knew when she was sad, smile's always made her feel better.

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A/N: Ha, okay I think the ending may have been a bit random… but I just wanted to get some more posted. There is more action coming very, very soon, just you wait haha. I've been told that despite my belief, this part isn't boring… but I think it is, so I'm trying my best to get to the more actionish parts soon! Thanks a lot to everyone who's been reviewing, I really appreciate the feedback!


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

A/N: Much thanks to everyone who is reviewing, very much appreciated! Ha, I hope this chapter isn't as disastrous as everything else I'm doing at the moment haha, I was eating a wrap for supper and unwrapped it alllll over my new band shirt haha and then I went to take a drink and I completely missed my mouth haha, poor band shirt I'm being a total klutz so I hope this chapter isn't reflecting that haha, anyways story time.

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Catherine didn't want to get up. Her head was killing her, but she knew she had to go to work. It was then she felt an arm around her waist, and opened one eye to find it was Warrick's arm… she couldn't remember anything… wait, this wasn't her bed… why was she at the hospital?

"Damn it." She muttered as she realized her nightmare was her reality. "Warrick?" She whispered.

"Are you okay Cath? Do you need anything?" He asked quickly waking up.

"Uh, I think I might need some more of whatever I was taking for pain, my whole body hurts like hell…where's Lindsay?" She forgot about her pain as she looked around and realized her daughter was no longer in the room.

"She probably went to get a snack or something…" Warrick suggested, "But I'll go find her, and get the nurse for you okay?" He smiled, giving Catherine the lightest kiss on the cheek and left the room. She sighed, and told herself that Warrick was right, that Lindsay was probably with Grissom or Nick or someone and was down at the vending machines… but what if she wasn't? What if Ryan Whittle was angry that they hadn't died? What if he came after her again, and took Lindsay? She hated having to sit in the hospital bed and wait while Warrick found out if her daughter was missing or not, but if anyone had to find out for her, she was glad it was Warrick. She trusted him more than anyone else in the world.

"She's in with Sara and Grissom." Warrick announced, coming back into the room. "I was on my way down to check the vending machine's for her and I just looked in the window and she's keeping Sara and Grissom company."

"And probably refereeing." Catherine chuckled, "Those two are impossible to be around together sometimes, and they've been in the same room for what a few hours now?"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Warrick shook his head, sitting back down on the bed beside Catherine. "The nurse should be in soon to give you some more medicine."

"Thanks Warrick, for everything. It means a lot to me, you being here for me and making me feel better." Catherine told him, trying to hold in the tears that threatened to fall.

"It's no problem Catherine, I love making you happy, I'd do anything for you… and we're going to catch Ryan Whittle." Warrick told her.

"I know." She nodded. It was almost funny how after being kidnapped and nearly beaten to death, she felt the happiest and least confused she had in a very long time.

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"Anything?" Greg asked Nick as he found him in the break room going over the files.

"I was just about to come and find you… we've got something." Nick announced proudly to Greg. "Remember that hair we found? Well we were right, it wasn't Sara or Catherine's, but we don't think it's Ryan Whittle's either."

"Then who's is it?" Greg wondered.

"We don't know, but see Ryan Whittle had blonde hair… the hair was dark, and when analyzed, they said that it was natural, no dye, no anything. It couldn't have been Ryan Whittle's hair."

"But whose is it?" Greg repeated with a bit more frustration present in his voice.

"Before you get all worked up about it Greggo, we got some fingerprints off that tape, and they aren't Catherine, Sara or Ryan's fingerprints. We're running them now, let's go see if we've got anything."

"Sure." Greg nodded, following Nick out of the room hoping more than anything they had a hit.

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"Are you getting tired Lindsay?" Grissom asked her. It was quite a day and night they'd had with Catherine and Sara missing then in the hospital, and Grissom wasn't sure if Lindsay had slept for more than twenty minutes during the last day, and it was a lot for a little girl to handle.

"A little." She admitted, accompanied by a yawn that suggested she was more than just a little tired. "Aren't you tired?" She asked the two adults.

"For once in my life, yes." Sara answered with a smile.

"I'm a bit tired Lindsay, but you girls should go to sleep, I have to go call Nick and Greg to see if they need my help… we need to catch the guy that did this." Grissom explained.

"Oh," Lindsay understood that her Uncle Gil had to go do his job, but she hoped that Warrick wouldn't leave her Mom alone, especially if she ended up falling asleep in here with Sara. "Is Warrick going to have to go with you?"

"No, he's going to get the night off and keep your mom company for a while, okay Linds?" Grissom answered.

"Okay Uncle Gil." Lindsay nodded, her eyes slowly drooping shut, no matter how hard she tried to keep them open.

"Goodnight Lindsay." Grissom chuckled at how quickly the girl was falling asleep.

"Good night Uncle Gil, good night Sara." Lindsay mumbled sleepily before letting her eyes shut completely.

"Night Lindsay." Sara smiled at the girl who was almost asleep beside her now, a change from the energetic girl who'd been telling her about Catherine's diary only minutes before. Sara felt her eyes shutting as well and she knew that she should sleep after everything that happened, so she resisted the urge to keep her eyes open and let herself fall to sleep. Grissom watched with a smile as Sara and Lindsay both fell into a deep sleep and hoped that they wouldn't have nightmares about the horrible experience they'd just been dragged through. He hoped more than anything that Greg and Nick would still have things under control because although he hoped they wouldn't have nightmares, he knew it was more than likely they would, and he wanted to be there for them when they woke up, Sara shouldn't go through this alone again, and although Lindsay shouldn't have to go through this at all, especially at her young age, she had to, and she shouldn't have to go through it alone the first, and if he had anything to do with it, the last time she had to go through an experience like this.

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"Stokes," Nick answered the phone excitedly. He was about to dial Grissom's number when his phone rang.

"Nick, it sounds like you have good news." Grissom hoped to god he did.

"It's pretty good news." Nick nodded, "Greg and I found a hair at the crime scene not belonging to Sara, Catherine or Ryan, and we also found a fingerprint on the tape that wasn't anyone involved, and we got a hit. It belongs to a Mr. John Hamilton… we haven't got any more on him yet. The only reason he's in the system is for a drug possession charge fifteen years ago when he was in University…" Nick explained.

"Great, thanks Nick. Sara was about to go to sleep, so I'll just go see if the name means anything to her before she does, and I'll call you back if I find anything out okay?"

"Sure Grissom." Nick nodded as his boss hung up the phone. Grissom walked back into the room, entering quietly in case Lindsay or Sara had fallen asleep and shut the door behind him. He approached the bed to discover that Lindsay was fast asleep and Sara was still laying with her eyes open."Hey, Sara, I need to ask you one more thing before you go to sleep." Grissom whispered.

"Sure." Sara nodded. She didn't really care what the question was. After what she'd been through today, she was positive it couldn't get any worse.

"We've got evidence of someone else at the crime scene…" Grissom started, "And we've got a name."

"Shoot." Sara encouraged him to just get it over with, she doubted she'd know the name anyways.

"Does the name John Hamilton mean anything to you?" Grissom asked and Sara stopped breathing for a second.

"I don't think I heard you correctly." Sara whispered hoarsely, hoping that she was just tired and her mind was playing tricks on her.

"John Hamilton…" Grissom repeated, louder this time. Sara looked like she was going to faint. All the colour had drained from her face and she closed her eyes, struggling for a breath. "Sara are you alright? Honey calm down." Grissom tried to comfort her, but he was worried. "I think I should get the doctor…" He mumbled before darting from the room.

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A/N: So I was hit with a wonderful wave of writers block halfway through this chapter, but I recovered! How is it? Here we go with some more action… oo, who is John Hamilton? Haa, reviews are muchly appreciated! Thanks!


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

A/N: Thank you very much for all the reviews, they're greatly appreciated and I can't believe how many I've gotten! On with the next chapter…

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"What happened to her?" Grissom asked the doctor as soon as he stepped out of Sara's room minutes later. Grissom had a sleeping Lindsay in his arms and was pacing slowly back and forth in front of Sara's closed hospital room door. The doctor had come as soon as Grissom called and asked Grissom and Lindsay to leave the room while he tended to Sara.

"She went into shock, I gave her something to help her sleep, and she should wake up in a few hours." The doctor answered. "Do you know what could have caused her to go into shock?" Grissom knew exactly what it was, but why, he did not know.

"I asked her a question related to a suspect we have forensically placed at the scene, and she couldn't believe the name I said…" Grissom suggested the most likely possibility.

"That could have been it, if the name meant enough to her after coming out of an accident like that. She'll wake up in a while." The doctor repeated before walking off down the hallway. Grissom didn't know what to do. He felt awful for sending Sara into a state of shock, but he was just asking mandatory questions. He considered going back into Sara's room and waiting for her to wake up, but he figured he'd be of more use at the lab. He didn't want to intrude on Catherine and Warrick's… whatever they were doing, confessions maybe, for lack of a better word, but Catherine was going to wake up and start worrying about Lindsay soon, so he should return her before Catherine made any assumptions. He shifted Lindsay so her head was resting on his other shoulder, and walked the very short distance between Sara's doorway and Catherine's. He knocked quietly before he entering.

"Hey Gil." Catherine greeted him.

"Catherine, Warrick." Grissom smiled. He walked over to the bed and Warrick accepted the sleeping Lindsay into his arms. "I thought you might be getting worried about her."

"Oh, I went out to see where she'd gotten to and saw her in with you and Sara." Warrick explained.

"Well, I'm heading to the lab to help out Nick and Greg; I'll be back in a few hours, okay?" Grissom told them.

"What about Sara? Won't she be lonely?" Catherine asked. What had happened to make Grissom leave Sara, or more like, what had he done to upset her this time?

"Sara uh, went into a state of shock… she's asleep now." Grissom explained.

"A state of shock?" Warrick asked, "How?"

"Well, we got a name of a possible suspect… I asked her about him, and she pretty well fainted." Grissom told them, a hint of blush creeping into his cheeks thinking about how unthoughtful he'd been. Ryan Whittle had raped Sara, for god sakes, why should he have estimated what this man meant to her?

"Oh," Was all Catherine could think to say. "What do you mean suspect? Ryan Whittle did this, we know that."

"But there could have been an accomplice." Grissom said, "You said that there were two men at the house, right?"

"Oh yeah," Catherine remembered, embarrassed at her mistake. "And I also heard that other voice while I was tied up again wherever we were." She pointed out.

"Yes, we got his print off the cassette." Grissom nodded, "But I better get going to the lab, I'll check in with you later. Feel better, alright?"

"Bye," They called after him before he shut the door quietly behind him.

"Mom?" Lindsay asked, her eyes fluttering open to find she was no longer with Sara, but in Warrick's arms.

"Hey baby," Catherine smiled at Lindsay.

"Hi Mom, Hi Warrick." Lindsay giggled, sitting up and wiggling out of Warrick's arms so she was sitting beside him on the bed. "How did I get here?"

"Uncle Gil brought you, the doctor had to look at Sara, and you and Uncle Gil had to leave the room, so he brought you in here, thought I might miss you." Catherine explained.

"Oh, is Sara okay?" Lindsay hoped she hadn't hurt Sara when she'd fallen asleep or anything.

"She's fine." Warrick reassured her.

"Okay." Lindsay sighed, leaning back so she was lying down in between Catherine and Warrick. "Did you guys have a good sleep?"  
"We did have a good sleep; did you have a good time with Sara?" Catherine smiled at her daughter's curious nature.

"Yup." Lindsay giggled, remembering the things she told Sara about her Mom's diary.

"What's so funny Linds?" Warrick smiled, curious to know what events went on in Sara's hospital room that Lindsay found funny.

"Nothing," Lindsay tried to stop giggling, "I'm just remembering what we talked about."

"Which was?" Catherine was eager to know what had transpired.

"Do you really want to know?" Lindsay stopped giggling and got a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Oh, I think we can handle it." Warrick smiled at Catherine. They both figured it was just something silly that a young girl would find funny, little did they know it would change their relationship forever.

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A/N: Okay, it's really, really short, and I took forever, and not much happened, but I'm going to post it anyways just so I can post something. Hopefully I'll get a better chapter up later tonight!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

A/N: Well, so much for later tonight like I said in my last note. Things have been crazy with me lately, so I haven't been getting much time to write… I've been having a lot of vocal practices haha for a competition thing that is three months away… haha, weird, okay, story time:

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"Hey Grissom!" Greg called from down the hall, and started walking quickly to catch up with his boss.

"Hello Greg." Grissom nodded, turning the corner.

"What are you doing back at the lab; I thought you were with Sara?" Greg asked.

"I was at the hospital with Sara, but I felt I'd be of more use here." Grissom shrugged, not feeling like sharing the extent of the situation with the younger CSI.

"Oh." Greg knew that there was a reason that Grissom had left, a reason other than the lame excuse he'd just given him, but it was Grissom, and he hardly ever said anything about why he did what he did, so Greg just let it go. "If you're going to stick around the lab for a while…"

"You can go to the hospital if you want, but be back in two hours, okay?" Grissom cut Greg off before he could finish the question.

"It's creepy how you do that, but thanks." Greg smiled.

"You're just predictable Greg, and get going!" Grissom shook his head as he headed off to find Nick, the former lab rat running off in the direction of the locker room. Spotting Nick, Grissom entered the break room silently and approached Nick who was facing away from him scanning a folder. "What do you have there Nick?" Grissom asked after he was standing looking at the folder over Nick's shoulder.

"Geeze Grissom! You scared the hell out of me!" Nick jumped slightly when Grissom spoke.

"I'm glad my CSI's are so aware." Grissom chuckled. "Is that John Hamilton's file?"

"Yeah, he went to Harvard as well, he was there the same time as Sara, but that's the only connection we have here." Nick summarized.

"That's the only connection we had with Ryan Whittle as well." Grissom pointed out.

"Yeah. So Sara didn't know him?" Nick clarified.

"Oh, she knows him." Grissom said.

"Then don't we have our connection?" Nick wondered.

"No, because when I asked Sara about him, I had to repeat the name so she knew she heard me correctly, then she went into shock and the doctor had to give her something to calm her and make her sleep for a bit." Grissom explained with a grim look.

"Ouch." Nick cringed, "So it's not looking good?"

"Not at all." Grissom nodded, "But we'll see where we can get while Sara's asleep."

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Sara groggily opened her eyes, once again struggling to remember the events prior to falling asleep. This time, she remembered the attacks, she remembered why her nightmares centered around Ryan Whittle, but John Hamilton was back in them too, what had happened to bring him into the picture? "Think Sara, think." She muttered under her breath. She remembered Lindsay coming in, and Grissom telling them to go to sleep… but now Lindsay was gone and John Hamilton was occupying her thoughts. Then she remembered Grissom coming back into the room after he'd left to make a call. He'd asked her who John Hamilton was because he had been at the crime scene. Figured. Out of all her horrible memories, and she had quite a few, the two still living, functioning and free people who had caused her so much pain had teamed up and hurt her once again. Why did they have to do this now when she was just learning how to live a normal life? She was starting to have fun, to go out more with Nick and Greg and the rest of the team, she was starting to get a life outside of work, and now, they had to come and ruin it all. She sighed and then heard a knock on her door. Great, probably Grissom needing to know who John Hamilton is, I did slow down his investigation by falling asleep. The door opened, and to her surprise, it wasn't Grissom, but Greg wearing an uncharacteristic look of concern.

"Hey Sara, are you alright? The doctor said he had to give you some medicine because you went into shock." Greg shut the door quietly behind him and hurried to Sara's bedside, making her feel old and useless.

"So that's what happened. I couldn't really remember… thanks." Sara smiled, so she hadn't slowed down his investigation by falling asleep, she'd been sedated.

"That was a side effect, don't worry it'll all come back to you soon." Greg reassured her.

"I'd rather it didn't." Sara pointed out.

"Yeah I guess. You've been through hell these past few days… and before…" Greg nodded.

"Yeah," Sara nodded, "But it can only get better from here." Then she smiled, "I probably jinxed it. That's what I was thinking right before Grissom came in here and asked me who… who he was." Sara couldn't bring herself to say the name out loud.

"Grissom asked you who he was?" Greg asked, confused, but slightly amused at the thought of Grissom forgetting his identity.

"No… he asked me who someone else was." Sara smiled slightly at Greg's confusion.

"Oh! John Hamilton, the suspect!" Greg remembered the name of the man whose fingerprint was on the tape. He shook his head slightly and then registered the look of pale horror on Sara's face and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. That name means something to you and I just said it like it didn't." Greg apologized.

"It's okay Greg." Sara sighed; glad Greg had handled the situation better than Grissom had. She preferred hugs over sedatives, but then again, Greg was more of a people person than Grissom.

"Do you want to talk about who he is and what he means to you?" Greg asked quietly, hoping she would.

"Yes." Sara took a deep breath, "But I don't know if I can. I want to try though." She added before Greg could tell her the suggestion of it had been stupid.

"Okay, I'm listening, whenever you're ready, or we can just talk about something else…" Greg said.

"No I want to try and tell you who he is…" Sara started, shutting her eyes and thinking about the best way to describe her past with John Hamilton.

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"Okay, well I'm sorry Mom, but sometimes, when you're not home and Grandma's not really paying attention to what I do… I sneak into your room and read your diary." Lindsay smiled as innocently and angelically as she could, hoping her Mom wouldn't' get mad.

"I think you should stop there then." Catherine blushed, not wanting to know how much Lindsay had read and how much she'd told Sara.

"Oh continue, please!" Warrick laughed, getting a sharp glare from Catherine. "Sorry Cath, I can't help it. I didn't picture you to be the diary writing type." Catherine, not having a reply to this just huffed and leaned back into the pillows, trying to focus on the physical pain her body was in, and not the emotional embarrassment she was anticipating.

"So, I read most of your diary," Lindsay continued, disregarding her Mom's comment to drop the subject and instead, listening to Warrick's opinion which was to continue. "And I read some interesting things. Very interesting things." Lindsay smiled, trying to remember all the things that had made her laugh until tears were in her eyes at some of the silly things her Mom had read, choosing not to remember some of the things that had made her mad and angry that her Mom had written about her father. Things she knew were true but chose to disregard. "There was stuff about Uncle Gil, and Sara, and Nick and Greg, and there were lots of things about you Warrick." Lindsay giggled. Catherine just focused as hard as she could on her aching body, and tried to stop the blush from showing in her cheeks. She was just glad she'd never gone into too much description in her entries and had only written the basic facts.

"Is that right?" Warrick asked Lindsay, raising an eyebrow and the looking at Catherine and trying not to laugh at how uncomfortable she looked.

"Yup, and since I can tell Mom is uncomfortable with this topic, I'll cut to the point." Lindsay smiled her most innocent smile once again, directing it at her Mother before continuing, "And the point is… my Mom is in love with you!" Lindsay giggled madly, mostly because she'd said the sentence with flourish of her arm in her most dramatic tone. "And now, I've got to go to the bathroom." She spoke quickly, before her Mom or Warrick had a chance to process what she'd just said, and darted out of the room.

"I'd leave too if I could." Catherine mumbled.

"But you can't, and I'm not going to because you know what?" Warrick smiled. He couldn't believe what Lindsay had just said, but Catherine hadn't denied it, and apparently she'd written it in her diary where she didn't think anyone would see it, ever, so she didn't have any reason to lie.

"What?" Catherine still didn't make eye contact with him, but it didn't faze him in the slightest.

"If I had a diary, I would have written that I loved you all over it."

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A/N: Okay, I hope that wasn't too corny or anything, I tried my hardest not to make it tooooo corny, but I don't think it was possible for it not to be a bit. Still leaving you hanging on the John Hamilton part, muahaha! I'm so hyper right now, but I should go to bed. Have to go to school tomorrow and build a star diorama hahaha ohfun. Thanks a lot to Dip for helping me get some ideas going for this chapter, and the rest of the story for that matter haha! I'll try my best to update soon, what did you guys think?


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

A/N: Okay, so right now I'm home sick with the flu or something, but it's probably something else because sicknesses are never simple with me, ugh. Anyways, thanks to you guys who reviewed, I really appreciate it and I am verrry surprised at how many reviews I've gotten! Nearly 100 now! Geeze, well here's the next chapter, a little more light on the John Hamilton situation if you'd call it that…

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"Sara, you don't have to talk about this now you know." Greg put an arm around her, sliding into the bed trying to comfort her.

"I know, but I might as well." Sara shrugged, snuggling closer to Greg, appreciating how open and good he was with people.

"Okay." Greg shrugged, not wanting to push Sara to tell or not to tell. It was weird being able to comfort Sara this way, usually she was the one helping him.

"John Hamilton," She sighed, then chuckled, "Well at least I said the name."

"It's a start." Greg encouraged her.

"Yeah, a start." She shook her head, hating how weak and vulnerable Ryan Whittle and apparently John Hamilton had made her just like they had before. Then after this, she'd probably wind up even tighter than she had been before, kissing goodbye any hope she ever had of a relationship with anyone, little lone Grissom who was the one person more inept at relationships than she was. She didn't think it was possible for two people so similar in the sense they had no social skills to have a relationship, but she could still hope.

"When did you meet him?" Greg tried asking some questions to see if that would help her explain to him who John Hamilton was.

"I first met him when I was in high school, but I didn't really know him until I was in University." Sara answered.

"Are the questions helping because I just want to make you feel as comfortable as possible." Greg told her, and she nodded. "Okay. So in University, were you two friends?"

"Yeah, we were best friends for a short period of time." Sara answered, shuddering at the memory. "Okay, I'm going to try to explain this situation, but it will sound really dumb, and it probably won't make sense."

"Then you're talking my language." Greg smiled, and Sara did as well.

"I remembered seeing John in my early high school years, he looked almost the exact same in University, and he was in almost all of my classes, so we naturally started talking and hanging out a bit. The more we got to know each other, the more I liked him." Sara was fighting down the urge to vomit at the thought that she had once had a crush on John Hamilton and continued with the story. Greg, who would have normally made a joke about how he'd have to go see John Hamilton and find out how to get Sara to like you, but in this particular situation, even Greg knew it was appropriate. "We were always together, and the closer we became, the more we told each other, and I thought we knew all of each other's secrets, but he was saving the best for last I guess." Sara sighed, hating how dumb she'd been to think that she'd found such a great friend. "When he thought that it wouldn't change anything, he told me." Sara swallowed hard, trying to stay emotionless as she recounted the story, "He told me how when he'd seen me in high school, he'd fallen in love with me and knew that I was the only one for him, and he was the only one for me." Sara couldn't hold in her emotions as she let a tear slip down her cheek.

"Sorry Sara, but I really don't understand why he creeps you out so much if all he did was fall in love with you…" Greg said, not wanting to offend or hurt Sara more, but just wanting to understand the situation.

"He stalked me from the time I was in grade ten until we became friends in second year University Greg." Sara stated, making it plain as hell why she was creeped out by John Hamilton.

"Oh." Was all Greg could think of to say.

"He knew every single thing about me, and insisted that I must have loved him because he knew me better than anyone, and he knew how much I hated having to explain my past to people. He said that I would never have to worry again because he'd always be there for me to protect me and love me no matter what."

"Then what happened because he obviously wasn't…" Greg wondered.

"I told him I didn't love him. I couldn't love someone who had been watching me for so long and never told me before, even when I thought we'd told each other everything. I said we couldn't be friends and I didn't ever want to talk to him again." Sara sighed at the memory.

"I'm guessing he didn't take it well?"

"Not at all. He hit me, and said that I better get over it and learn to love him because we were going to be together."

"Sara," Greg started to express how sorry he was but Sara just kept on going, she had achieved her emotionless state of mind and was blankly retelling past events, and she wasn't stopping for his sympathy.

"And I just shut up and stayed with him. We were a 'couple' for almost a year. Every time I said something he didn't want to hear, he hit me, or just when he was angry, he'd beat me up. I don't know why I didn't just leave. At the time it didn't seem like an option I guess, but eventually, I did leave. I left him and then I met Ryan."

"Sara…" Greg started. He couldn't express how sorry, how angry, he was at the moment. He pulled her into a hug and held her while tears ran down her cheeks. How did she keep this all to herself, all inside for so long? How did she overcome it all and still managed to be so beautiful and strong? He didn't think he'd ever understand how she kept it all together, seeing all those cases so similar to what she'd lived. "We'll catch him, don't worry, they'll pay."

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A/N: So that chapter was just Greg and Sara, learning about John Hamilton… hope it was satisfactory, now I have a headache as well so I'm going to go take a nap before I have to go visit the doctor, byeee! (And of course, reviews are GREATLY appreciated, thanks!)


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

_"If I had a diary, I would have written that I loved you all over it." _Warrick's words rang through her head. Was he serious? Or just making fun of her for having a diary? Warrick looked at the confused look on her face, and his first reaction was that he was glad she wasn't embarrassed anymore, because she didn't know that her daughter had just made things clearer than ever to him, and given him a boost of confidence to say what he had wanted to say for so long. But then he had gone and said it in the worst possible way. A joke. He was busy mentally kicking himself when he realized Catherine had started to talk.

"Warrick, since I don't think I can get any more embarrassed right now, so I'm just going to ask you; what the hell did you mean when you said that?" Catherine spoke as quickly as she could, but Warrick knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I meant that I love you." Warrick said simply, like it was the easiest thing in the world, although that was the farthest thing from what he felt.

"Oh," Was all Catherine could think of to say, though Warrick thought her silly smile said it all. It was her smile that he loved the most, more than anything in the world. It was his favourite thing about her, what made him fall in love with her in the first place.

"And should I consider your daughter a credible source of information?" He smiled, quite at ease with their flirtatious banter.

"In this instance, most definitely. I have to go settle some other things that she may or may not have read later, but in this case, she is very credible." Catherine laughed.

"I'm glad." Warrick sighed, moving his head the slightest bit towards Catherine's.

"Me too." Catherine tilted her head upwards so she was looking directly into his eyes. "Uh, Warrick, I hate to sort of break the moment, but I am quite restrained and can't move any closer to you than this… so kiss me already." She pointed out with a giggle.

"Your wish is my command." Warrick replied.

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"Hey Grissom, come take a look at this!" Nick called down the hall to Grissom who was walking the other way. Grissom turned around and walked towards Nick who was waving him into the layout room.

"I was just going over the evidence again, and I realized something." Nick explained.

"What?" Grissom wondered where Nick was going with this.

"We have nothing." Nick stated.

"You called me in here to tell me that?" Grissom marveled, was Nick completely losing it over this case?  
"Yes, but there's more. We have nothing, which means he's really, really good. Even some of the smartest criminals we deal with, we always find something, and those cases aren't nearly as personal for us, if you know what I mean," Grissom nodded.

"So what you're saying is we're dealing with an extremely smart, professional here?" Grissom summed it up.

"That's what I'm saying." Nick nodded, "And I'm guessing he has done this many, many times judging by the level of his professionalism."

"So let's see if we've got any cold cases that fit the description." Grissom saw where Nick was going with it and they headed off to see what they could find on the computer.

----------

"They'll pay. I'll make sure of it." Greg repeated to Sara as she continued to let tears fall down her cheeks, but the rate of the tears were slowing, and her breathing was evening out. He could tell she was falling asleep. "Sara, is it okay if I explain this to Grissom and Nick? They need to know for the case…" Greg hoped it was, because he'd have to tell them anyways, but he felt better asking Sara first.

"Yeah." She whispered sleepily, "Thanks for listening and making me feel better, Greggo." She smiled before sleep claimed her tired body.

"Anytime Sara; thanks for sharing with me." Greg smiled as he watched her fall to sleep. He kissed her forehead before getting up and walking out of the room so he could call Grissom and Nick at the lab and tell them what Sara had just told him. As he stepped towards the waiting room, something in Catherine's room caught his eye. He didn't believe it at first, so he stepped closer to get a better look, and sure enough, Catherine and Warrick were making out in Catherine's hospital room. "Well, she sure doesn't let her injuries get in her way." Greg muttered under his breath with a chuckle before heading down towards the waiting room to make his call.

"Greg!" He heard a familiar, young voice call his name from somewhere ahead of him.

"Hey Lindsay, what are you doing out here?" Greg asked.

"Well, I kind of told my Mom I read her diary, and then I told Warrick what it said in it, then I ran out of the room." Lindsay giggled at her deviousness.

"Oh I see." Greg smiled, so Lindsay was the reason Warrick and Catherine were, well kissing was a bit of an understatement, but he'd opt for it.

"Yup. Did you see them? Did they look mad?" Lindsay wondered in her usual curious manner.

"I saw them, but they didn't look mad." Greg winked at Lindsay.

"Were they kissing?" Lindsay asked, wrinkling her nose and making the cutest disgusted look.

"Yeah." Greg nodded, with a laugh, "Can I get you a drink or anything?"

"Sure." Lindsay smiled. She liked hanging out with Greg, he was cool, he wasn't quite as uptight as the other adults, she especially liked that.

"Alright, get a drink from the machine right there okay? I have to call Nick and your Uncle Gil and tell them something, alright?" Greg handed Lindsay two dollars, and she scampered off towards the vending machine while Greg pulled out his cell phone and dialed Grissom's number.

"Grissom."

"Hey Grissom, it's Greg."

"Greg, how's Sara?" Grissom asked anxiously.

"She's gone back to sleep, but I talked to her, and she told me." Greg didn't have to say any more than that because he knew Grissom would understand.

"I'm going to come over there so I can hear it in person, alright?" Grissom told Greg.

"Okay, but can you put Nick on for a minute?" Greg asked before Grissom could hang up.

"Sure," Grissom nodded, and motioned for Nick to take the phone. Looks of confusion and shrugs were exchanged with the phone.

"Hey Greggo, what's happening?" Nick asked.

"Well, you'll never guess what I just saw, so I'll give you a hint."

"Okay…" Nick prompted him.

"You owe me fifty bucks." Greg announced proudly.

"Are you serious?" Nick whined, he couldn't believe Greg had won their bet.

"Never been more serious in my life." Greg answered solemnly, "Well actually I have, but that's beside the point."

"Fine, I'll pay up next time I see you." Nick admitted defeat, "But you better not be lying." And with that, the conversation was over, and Grissom was on his way to the hospital to find out what Greg knew about John Hamilton.

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A/N: I had the hardest time starting this chapter, but anyways, my chapters have been really short lately, but that's alright I guess. How was it? Reviews are MUCHLY appreciated! Thanks!


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

A/N: thank you SOOO much to everyone who is reviewing, I really appreciate the feedback! Ha, right now I'm in such a frustrated mood, there's something wrong with my one ear and I can only hear out of one of them, it's super, super annoying.

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"Greg!" Greg heard Grissom call his name from somewhere down the hall.

"We're over here, Grissom." Greg called from the waiting room. Grissom came into sight looking tired and frustrated then smiled when he saw Lindsay and Greg.

"Every time I see you, you're with a different man Lindsay." Grissom winked, "I'm going to have to tell your mother to keep an eye on you." Greg smiled at Grissom friendly joking with Lindsay, who was giggling madly.

"Lindsay, why don't we see what your Mom and Warrick are up to? I bet they miss you since you ran out of there last time." Greg suggested as he got up.

"You ran out of there?" Grissom was confused.

"It's a long story." Lindsay told Grissom with a knowing look.

"Is it now?" Grissom shook his head with a smile.

"Yup!" Lindsay nodded, jumping off the couch and standing between Grissom and Greg. "Well, you see, I kind of read my Mom's diary." Lindsay admitted, looking very sheepish.

"You read your Mom's diary?" Grissom smiled.

"Catherine has a diary?" Greg exclaimed with a very big smile, making Lindsay giggle madly and Grissom shake his head, once again.

"Yup! And I read it when she went out one time, and Grandma was watching TV. It had lots and lots of interesting things in it." Lindsay smiled, remembering back to what she'd read about Grissom and Sara, and Greg having a crush on Sara, which made her giggle even more.

"Do we even want to know what's in there?" Grissom asked.

"Yes!" Greg exclaimed.

"Well, it did help my Mom and Warrick." Lindsay giggled, thinking of how she bolted from the room and then they were kissing, you saw them, didn't you Greg?"

"I did." Greg nodded with a hint of disgust present in his voice and on his face.

"Well, that was certainly unexpected." Grissom remarked sarcastically.

"You mean you noticed their constant flirting and all of that too?" Greg wondered.

"Of course, how couldn't I?" Grissom looked at Greg.

"Uh, I don't know." Greg shrugged, "_Maybe because you can't even realize things about yourself, I didn't think you would about other people" _He thought.

"Well Lindsay, why don't we go see your Mom and Warrick, and then I have to talk to Greg about something." Grissom suggested, letting the last bit of conversation slip from his memory.

"Okay Uncle Gil." Lindsay nodded, taking his hand as he led her towards Catherine's room. Greg walked ahead to make sure that Catherine and Warrick weren't still kissing, he didn't know how they would be… even he couldn't kiss for that long!

"Coast is clear!" Greg called, making Grissom chuckle and Lindsay giggle madly, a regular occurrence in these past few hours.

"Alright let's go." Grissom said before Greg knocked on the door and pushed it open.

-------

Sara was slowly waking up in the next room and much to her dismay, realizing she was alone. She felt guilty for feeling bad about being left alone, but she felt that way anyways. It was natural to want to be with someone you are comfortable with after a traumatic event like this occurred. She thought back to all the crime scenes they investigated where the victim was still alive and in the hospital, and how worried they were until their family member or loved one was released. How much people cried, how long they sat there. She knew that her friends couldn't just sit there with her, they had a job to do, and she guessed finding Ryan and John were their number one priorities, not her, but she knew that Warrick would still be with Catherine, and probably more than just sitting by her bed comforting her like a friend by now, knowing those two, and Lindsay's inside information from Catherine's diary. That made Sara think about what Lindsay told her about Grissom and herself that Catherine had written. Did Grissom really feel that way about her? Or was that just Catherine speculating and writing random things down? She figured she'd never know, but it was something to keep her mind occupied. But of course, as soon as she started thinking about a number of different things, her thoughts came to the topic of her nightmares, Ryan Whittle and John Hamilton. She couldn't believe they had done this to her. They had tormented her life enough already, almost more than her parents had, why did they have to keep coming back for more? She knew if she recovered fully and was happy, they'd know, and they'd get her again. She knew they wouldn't give up until she was injured for life and couldn't work, or all her friends abandoned her or she died. Those were her only ways out, but none of them were very appealing. She hated when she felt like this, alone, tired, hurt, depressed, and she hadn't felt like this for a while, things were getting better, but they couldn't have that, could they? She thought of what she used to do when she got like this. She used to sing. It made it all better for her, it was the simplest way to vent her anger, but she hadn't sung for a very long time. And although it did help her with her anger, singing also reminded her of John because he used to always tell her what a beautiful voice she had, like an angel. She remembered him telling her that, but that was before things took the turn for the worse. She didn't know what song to sing, anyways. It had been too long to start singing again, she decided. She couldn't do it. Rolling over and trying to push Ryan and John out of her head, she attempted to fall back asleep.

----------

"Hey guys," Warrick smiled when he saw, or rather heard, them entering the room. "What's up?"

"You guys kissed!" Lindsay exclaimed excitedly, making it obvious to Catherine that Lindsay liked Warrick a heck of a lot better than the other guys she had dated, which came as no surprise. She knew that Warrick wouldn't cheat on her like the rest of the men she seemed to choose, Warrick was different, and she knew that for a fact.

"You saw that?" Catherine smiled, a bit embarrassed, but a bit relieved as well.

"Well, I didn't, Greg did." Lindsay admitted.

"Oh I see." Warrick raised an eyebrow at Lindsay, making her giggle and then averted his gaze to Greg. "So now you're watching people kiss Sanders?"

"I'm scarred for life, man!" Greg exclaimed, with a look of over exaggerated disgust on his face.

"Alright children, Greg and I have an issue to discuss, so we're going out there." Grissom pointed a finger towards the hallway, "And congratulations, by the way." He smiled at Warrick and Catherine before heading out the door.

"Bye!" Greg called as he followed Grissom quickly, shutting the door behind them. "They look really happy." Greg observed.

"Especially considering the circumstances." Grissom added, Greg nodding in agreement. "So what's this that Sara told you about John Hamilton?"

"It's fairly simple." Greg started, "They shared common interests and were friends, he wanted more, she didn't, so he made her want more. Abused her for I don't know how long before she finally was able to leave him, and then she met Ryan." Greg hated telling the story, but it was better that way than with all the details.

"That's all she told you?" Grissom doubted Sara had been that vague, but then again, it was Sara, who could tell what to expect.

"Well, she was a lot more descriptive, but I didn't think it was necessary… I thought we just needed the connection." Greg pointed out.

"Yeah you're right, I'm sorry, I'm just letting my person curiosity and concern get in the way." Grissom admitted, "But thanks Greg, nice work."

"Uh, thanks." Greg shrugged. He hadn't really done any work; he'd just listened to Sara talk as a friend. That was it.

"Yes, this will definitely help; I'm going to go back to the lab. Nick and I can work with this." Grissom told Greg. Grissom wanted to go see Sara, but he didn't know what to say. She needed someone like Greg with her now, to comfort her and listen like he had before, not someone like him who would be awkward and didn't know how to comfort people very effectively. She didn't need him, and he had to accept that. He'd be to upset to talk rationally with her anyways, and the last thing she needed right then was an emotionally upset man with limited social skills sticking around.

"Are you sure you don't want to see Sara first?" Greg asked.

"You know what Greg? I do, but I'm really not good at comforting people like you are Warrick are, so I think it's best if I wait until later, okay?" Grissom said honestly before walking down the hall, leaving a stunned Greg behind him.

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A/N: So I know it took me a little while to update, but hopefully this is a bit longer, well I think it is, than my other chapters so it's even haha. A bit out of character there for Grissom and Sara a bit, but I try my best, what do you think?


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

A/N: Okay, well I'm listening to morbid love songs right now, so I'm in a bit of an odd mood haha, yeah, anyways, I should be getting ready for my exam which starts at nine o'clock haha and it's now ten to eight, yeah, I should, haha but I'm going to do this first… it's only business… it's open book haha. Yeah. K:

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"Hey Sara," Greg said quietly as he entered the room after knocking.

"Hey." She mumbled, turning around to face him. He saw that she was just about in tears and rushed over to her bedside, carefully sitting down and putting his arms around her.

"It's going to be okay." He whispered into her hair as he held her as tightly as he could with her injuries and she let a tear slip down her cheek, realizing it was the first time since they'd been rescued that she'd cried. It felt good to let it all out, it felt good to be held like she was loved. Greg softly murmured words of encouragement and sympathy which made her feel more comforted than anything else, but she still couldn't help but wish it was Grissom's arms around her, and not Greg's, which made her feel guilty because Greg had helped her so much. As the tears slowed, and the sobbing ceased to shuddering breaths, she found her voice.

"Greg… thank you… for everything." She managed to say through her shudders.

"Sara, don't thank me, really." Greg told her, "All I want to do is make you feel better, all I want to do is catch those bastards."

"I know, and you are helping me more than anyone else." Sara smiled at him, the taste of saline in her mouth as she did so from all the tears she'd been crying.

"More than Grissom?" Greg voiced the unspoken words hanging between them.

"Yeah." Sara admitted, "I just don't understand him, but more than that, I just don't understand why I can't let it go that he'll never get close to me."

"That's not true." Greg protested.

"I know it is, I am not that oblivious." Sara argued.

"Sara, he wanted to make sure I was coming back in here to see you because he said he couldn't. He didn't know what to say, or how to act; he just doesn't know what to do around you, especially when you're in such a vulnerable position…" Greg explained, leaving Sara completely shocked. Grissom had actually told Greg this, or was Greg just trying to make her feel better?

"Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" Sara asked, since they were being completely honest.

"It's as true as the fact that Warrick and Catherine made out." Greg smiled mischievously, deciding that hearing about Warrick and Catherine would make her laugh, or at least smile.

"But they never have," Sara pointed out.

"Ah, Sara, you need to get out more." Greg joked, "No, but I just saw them only minutes ago doing that very activity in Catherine's hospital room. Seems Lindsay had some insight…"

"Oh yes, the diary." Sara giggled.

"You know about the diary?" Greg wondered.

"Lindsay told me about it earlier when she was here… I didn't think it was a credible source, but now I have reason to believe so and I'm feeling better by the minute." Sara smiled. If Catherine actually did have this diary where she wrote things she knew, or thought were very probable, which with Catherine, usually meant they were true, that meant that Grissom had feelings for her as more than a friend, and if what he told Greg was any factor…

"I see this makes you very happy." Greg observed, "What else did Lindsay tell you?"

"Not much." Sara smiled, not wanting to share.

"Ok." Greg shrugged. If it was really important, she'd tell me, he figured.

"So how is the case coming?" Sara inquired curiously since she was now at ease over her Grissom worrying and lack of friend in general worrying.

"It's moving… slowly. We're thinking that Ryan is definitely a seasoned veteran at these sorts of crimes, and of course, the factor of John Hamilton, neither of which can be tracked down anywhere. They seem to have done a superb job in disappearing, but we'll find them soon don't worry." Greg reassured Sara after recounting the story. To Sara, it seemed that she couldn't have more than a two word conversation with someone before they were reassuring her everything would be fine and the guys that did this to her were caught- she just never wanted to see them again, whether they were in jail, dead, or hiding, she really didn't care at the moment.

"Thanks." Was all she could think of to say. As the room settled into an awkward silence, Greg took hold of Sara's hand, hoping to reassure her that everything would indeed be okay.

----------

"I think you took the longest bathroom break known to man." Catherine teased her daughter.

"I don't think you guys really noticed I was gone…" Lindsay giggled. They were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"Excuse me," The doctor said, "I need to check up on your injuries, make sure your doing okay."

"Sure." Catherine nodded.

"We'll be back in a few minutes, alright?" Warrick told Catherine giving her a peck on the cheek, Lindsay doing the same, before Warrick took her hand and led her out of the room.

"Do you want a drink or anything?" He asked her.

"Greg just got me a drink a little while ago." Lindsay told him.

"Alright." Warrick shrugged, leading her over to the couch where they'd fallen asleep earlier, they sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Warrick broke it. "Lindsay, you don't have any problems with me being with your Mom, do you?" Lindsay shook her head no.

"I want you to be with my Mom because you're nice to us." Lindsay told him honestly, "You won't make my Mom cry like my Daddy did, or like her other boyfriends did."

"Not if I can help it." Warrick told her while giving her a hug. It broke his heart to see the way Lindsay understood everything that went on in Catherine's life. Reading her diary probably played a big part in that, but she was a very mature, smart girl for her age to understand everything Cath had written. He wasn't sure how many bad relationships Catherine had gotten herself into other than her marriage, but he knew there were more than a few, and that broke his heart as well, because she deserved so much better, and he was going to try his hardest to be the best he could for her.

"Do you love my Mom, for real?" Lindsay asked, hoping more than anything he did. She had heard her Mom's other boyfriends claim they did, but there was something different about Warrick. He had been her Mom's friend for a really, really long time, and he had never made her Mom cry before, so she hoped that meant that he really did love her Mom, and that he wouldn't' take her away from her like everyone else tried to. She knew that the reason some of her Mom's boyfriends had broken up with her was because she had a daughter, but she'd heard her Mom yell at them. She knew her Mom loved her more than anything, and she hoped Warrick would love her too, if he really did love her Mom.

"For real." Warrick answered, trying to figure out exactly what was going on in Lindsay's head, "And I love you too."

-------

A/N: haha, sorry if it's getting really quite sappy/corny right now but it's just something I have to do in this story in order for some other things to happen later… oo. Haha Anyways, I should really really really go study for my exams… but I don't know.. anyways PLEASE review, pleaseee! Reviews really help me lol because I often doubt my writing, and when you guys tell me that you like it (or that you don't) it just gives me a better perspective on it, and I usually write much faster haha. K, ttyl!


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

A/N: I've been having SO much writers block, so just to warn you, this is going to probably not be very good, but hmm, maybe I'll overcome it if I try reallll hard. So I started this chapter a bagillion years ago, and now I'm going to finish it and post it TODAY! K! haha, yeah, we have an ice day today, huge ice storm, and tonight was semi formal and I was so pumped, but now it's postponed for like a month, and I'm unbelievably sad!

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"Do you know who John Hamilton is?" Nick asked as soon as Grissom entered the room.

"Sort of." Grissom shrugged. "I know what he means to Sara, but we don't really know who he is."

"So he's connected to Sara for sure then." Nick shook his head, wishing he was with Sara to comfort her right then because he knew what it was like to feel so vulnerable and alone.

"In about the worst possible way." Grissom nodded.

"What do you mean?" Nick had a few ideas, but wasn't sure if he wanted to know the right answer.

"Abusive boyfriend, she didn't want to be more than friends, he did, and so he abused her and forced her to stay with him." Grissom explained grimly.

"Well he's also one of the luckiest bastards alive right now because if we had him in custody …" Nick trailed off, he knew Grissom got the picture and he figured it was best not to make direct threats in case someone like Hodges heard and reported him to Ecklie.

"Let's focus on getting him in custody, okay?" Grissom suggested.

"Right." Nick nodded and got back to work.

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"I love you too." Lindsay whispered, resting her head on Warrick's chest.

"I'm glad, because I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable if I was around more." Warrick told her.

"No one else cared." Lindsay shrugged.

"What do you mean, Linds?" Warrick wanted to know what was bugging the young girl so much and making her so unhappy.

"Well, none of my Mom's other boyfriends cared whether I liked them. A lot of them left my mom because of me. They wanted my mom to leave me but she wouldn't, then they got mad." Lindsay explained.

"Sweetie, you know your Mom loves you more than anything in the world right?" Warrick hoped she did, because it was the truth.

"Yeah, I guess." Lindsay shrugged. She did, but there were times when Lindsay knew that her Mom's life would be a lot easier if she wasn't around.

"Lindsay, listen to me, alright?" Warrick demanded, "Your Mom loves you more than anything in this world, and she'd do anything for you. Anything. She'll never leave you."

"Thanks Warrick." Lindsay smiled.

"Just telling the truth." Warrick smiled back, glad to see Lindsay happy. "Come on let's go see how your Mom's doing with her checkup."

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"How long do I have to stay in the hospital anyway?" Sara asked after a few moments of comfortable silence.

"Um, not sure, but a little while anyways. Although, you seem more and more like yourself with every conversation I have with you." Greg teased, referring to the fact that merely hours after a horrific attack, she was already wanting out of the hospital.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good thing." She shrugged, "But I could probably help on the case, you know, since I know pretty much exactly what happened."

"Sara, you know you can't work this case." Greg told her.

"But-" She protested.

"Sara." Greg said in a warning tone, "You were the victim of this case, you can't work it."

"Fine." She gave up arguing.

"And I'd say that you definitely have to stay in the hospital for a little longer, I mean you just stopped arguing with me after I told you no once, what's that about Sidle?" Greg joked, hoping to make her feel better.

"Shut up." She smiled. "But Greg, seriously, thank-you."

"For what?" Greg wondered.

"For just staying here with me while everyone else is doing what needs to be done. You're making me smile and laugh more than I usually do after something so upsetting- you're a great friend Greg." She told him.

"Aw, thanks." He smiled, dramatically clutching his hands over his heart. "I just want to see you back at the lab soon."

"Me too." Sara nodded, hoping she would be. "I wonder when I'll be able to get out of this bed."

"Ha, anything else to add to this list of things you want to accomplish?" Greg teased.

"Hmm… I'll have to think about that." Sara laughed. She could think of a thing or two she might want to accomplish by the end of her hospital stay, getting Grissom to fall in love with her being one of them, but she wasn't going to tell Greg that!

"Hey Grissom" Nick called. Grissom had retreated to his office to think about the case is solitude leaving Nick to sort through the evidence in the layout room some minutes ago, and Nick had finally come across something useful just as he was ready to give up.

"Got something Nick?" Grissom was out of his chair and ready to come look at the evidence again in a matter of seconds.

"I think so." Nick nodded, "Come take a look." Grissom followed him down the corridors and into the layout room where Nick had all the evidence sorted. "See this here?" He asked, pointing to a piece of metal that could have come from many different things. "I didn't think anything of it before, just a random piece of metal, but when observed more closely, I determined it was from a piece of jewelry, more specifically a man's watch. I found some trace on it, and a partial print which I have sent to their respective labs to get processed."

"Nice job Nick." Grissom commended him. "And I'm sorry I'm not a big help on this case.."

"Grissom, it's fine. I've got things under control here, why don't you go back to the hospital for a while?" Nick suggested.

"I don't know…" Grissom started, but Nick cut him off.

"Grissom, you just said yourself you aren't able to be a big help on this case, and you won't be until you and Sara straighten some things out." At the look on Grissom's face, Nick smiled and continued, "Grissom, we all see it. The whole teams knows- it's you two who are in denial. It's getting really annoying too."

"Alright, thanks Nick." Grissom headed towards the door. "But page me if you need any help at all or if something imperative comes from what you just found."

"Will do boss." Nick nodded before Grissom rushed off. "He better fix things with Sara." Nick mumbled under his breath. Their dancing around their feelings at the lab _was _getting awfully annoying.

A/N: FINALLY finished a super short chapter, but it's something! Feedback is greatly appreciated, and thankyou to everyone who's been reviewing so far in the story! I hope it's not getting really boring haha or mushy or anything, I try my best to keep it good, but yeah, I don't know how well I'm doing right now lol. NEW EPISODE THURSDAY! Finally, haha, there hasn't been


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28:

A/N: Still suffering from writers block but it's improving, I guess. I hope this is better than last time thanks for the reviews!

--&

Grissom was on his way to the hospital when his phone rang. "Grissom." He answered, annoyed at whoever was calling. He didn't want to have to go anywhere other than Sara's hospital room at the moment- and this could be a possible interruption.

"Grissom, I know you just left the lab to go see Sara, but you might want to see this…" Nick explained.

"I'm there." Grissom replied before hanging up, turning the vehicle around and speeding to reverse the distance between the lab and the hospital that he'd just covered. He knew that it was something important for Nick to call him back to the lab and not just explain it over the phone and let Grissom decide whether or not returning to the lab was necessary, especially since he had indeed heard Nick's mumble of a comment as he left the lab earlier. "This better be imperative Nick." He mumbled under his breath as he sped into the lab parking lot.

--&

When Warrick and Lindsay turned the corner, they did not expect what they saw in the least. The hallway was packed from wall to wall with machines and nurses. "What's going on?" Lindsay whispered, tugging on Warrick's sleeve. Warrick didn't say anything, he just shook his head, he didn't even have a guess at what they were doing to Catherine.

"Excuse me?" He called to one of them, "Could you tell me what's going on with Catherine Willows?"

"Are you her husband?" The nurse inquired. Warrick was about to roll his eyes and honestly answer the question that he had so many times in the last few hours, but then saw that it would be much to his benefit if he was Catherine's husband. More information that way.

"Yep." Warrick nodded, "How is she?" Lindsay looked at him, and tried not to smile. She knew what Warrick was doing, she knew how hospitals worked. They wouldn't let Warrick know what was going on unless he was family- and she was the only family of Catherine's at the hospital and it wasn't as if they were going to take the time to explain the extent of someone's injuries to a young child.

"Alright Mr. Willows…" She started.

"Brown." Warrick corrected her.

"Oh?" The nurse raised an eyebrow.

"Long story." Warrick smirked.

"Alright," The nurse bought into it and Warrick mentally sighed in relief.

"We're taking her back to the OR." The nurse told him.

"What! Why?" Warrick exclaimed. "She was perfectly fine a few minutes ago, I was in with her!"

"Warrick!" Lindsay cut in, "Is Mom going to be alright?"

"Is this your daughter?" The nurse asked, doubting Warrick and Catherine's relationship for the second time in the short conversation.

"Um, no, well not technically, she's like a daughter to me, she was from Catherine's previous marriage…" Warrick explained, this part though, was the truth.

"Okay." The nurse shrugged, not wanting to hear anymore about this couples obviously complicated marriage. "She was doing alright, but while the doctor was doing his checkup, he noticed something that'd been missed before. The surgery last time was to stop the internal bleeding into the stomach, but when we went over her again, we noticed that there was the tiniest bit of internal bleeding higher up on her right side. We have to stop it before it does any permanent damage."

"So it's nothing extremely serious?" Warrick sighed.

"Not really, I mean, if she doesn't get the surgery, she'll eventually bleed to death, but the surgery's an easy one. It'll be and in and out, and back into recovery. Don't worry, she'll be fine in time." The nurse reassured him. "She's especially lucky to have a husband and daughter like you two to care for her."

"Thanks." Warrick smiled, wrapping his arm around a smiling Lindsay. Lindsay loved pretending Warrick was her "dad", he made her feel safe.

"No problem, but if you wouldn't mind going back down the hall…"

"Sure thing." Warrick nodded, taking Lindsay's hand and steering her back to where they'd been sitting minutes before.

--&

"What did you find Nicky?" Grissom asked as he nearly jogged into the layout room where Nick was still laboring over the evidence.

"I got something that could be key to finding Ryan Whittle." Nick smiled proudly.

"Great what is it?" Grissom pressed.

"Partial on the watch came back." Nick answered.

"And it was Ryan Whittles?" Grissom guessed.

"Nope." Nick shook his head.

"John Hamilton's?" Grissom took another guess.

"Nope." Nick shook his head again.

"Dammit Nick I want to catch this guy, who's print was it?" Grissom demanded.

"Helen Whittle's, his mother." Nick was very proud of this information, and it showed.

"Great let's get a car over to her house and see if she knows where her son is." Grissom sort of smiled, sort of sighed in relief that they had finally made some headway as to finding Ryan. "Have you told Brass?"

"Told me what?" A voice came from the doorway. "We've had absolutely no progress on finding Ryan Whittle… what about you guys?"

"Mom's print is on the watch," Nick told Brass.

"Good job Nick, let's go." Brass nodded giving the younger man a faint smile. Anyone could tell that Brass was worn out, physically from working so hard to find Ryan Whittle, and mentally because he was worried about Sara and Catherine not having been to the hospital to check on them yet.

"Right behind you." Grissom stated as they headed out the door to their respective cars.

Fifteen minutes later Brass, Grissom, Nick and two police cars were situated in front of the Whittle house. "Hello Ma'am, my name is Jim Brass, I'm with the Las Vegas Police Department, these are my colleagues, CSI Grissom and Stokes, could we come in?"

"Yes, yes. Would you like any coffee?" The small old lady asked them with a pleasant smile.

"No thank you." Grissom declined the offer.

"Okay, well was there something in particular you needed?" She wondered.

"Yes, it's about your son Ryan." Brass answered.

"Ryan?" The woman's smile disappeared.

"Yes. Have you seen him?" Nick pressed.

"What's he done?" She inquired.

"It doesn't matter, have you seen him?" Brass said, with a hint more aggression in his voice this time.

"Yes, I've seen my son. I saw him a day and a half ago, he was off in his own little world, as always. I swear that boy has never grown up." She shook her head. "Now tell me what he's done?"

"You are aware of the previous charges against your son?" Grissom double checked.

"Yes, very aware, and not proud." The woman held her head in shame. "I thought I raised him right… I tried my best." She sounded as if she were about to burst to tears.

"I'm sure you did everything you could." Nick reassured her, "But some people are born a certain way regardless of who their parents are and what they teach them, so people can't help themselves but to hurt others."

"Who has he hurt now?" The lady looked up at Nick, eyes full of sadness and gratitude for his attempts to make her feel better.

"Two very good friends of mine." Nick told her, "They're going to be alright, but they might not have been if we didn't get to them in time."

"I'm sorry." The tears threatened to fall down her cheeks at any given second now.

"I know you are, but you have to tell us if you know where he is. We need to find him before he hurts anyone else." Nick explained.

"He stayed here for a few nights about a week ago, but he packed up and left three days ago. He hardly said a word to me the whole time he was here, but it was more than we'd talked in the six years he lived in Arizona. He mumbled something about a hotel when he left, I didn't catch it but he didn't seem to care. It sounded like Star Pacific maybe?" The woman recounted the story the best she could.

"Thank you." Grissom smiled as she finished.

"Did it help?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes it did." Grissom nodded, "It could help us find your son a lot quicker than we would have. We really appreciate your time." The three men nodded their thanks as they made their way to the door.

"If you remember anything else or hear from your son, give me a call okay?" Brass instructed, handing Helen Whittle a card. She nodded and shut the door.

"That could prove to be very helpful." Grissom sighed.

"Or not helpful in the slightest." Brass added.

"Thanks for keeping such a positive state of mind Brass." Nick rolled his eyes, "I'm going to call Archie and get him to check out any hotels resembling Star Pacific in the area alright?"

"Sure." Grissom nodded as Nick pulled out his phone.

"Hey Archie." Nick said as Archie picked up. "I need you to see if you can find me a hotel with the name Star Pacific in the Vegas area."

"Alright… okay." Nick motioned to Brass for a piece of paper and wrote the address and phone number Archie was giving to him down. "Thanks Arch." Nick shut the phone. "Star Pacific hotel is only twelve blocks away from here, want to pay them a visit?"

"Most definitely." Grissom agreed. They got back into their respective cars and drove off to the Star Pacific hotel. Upon entering the hotel, they saw it was definetly not the nicest of places to stay in Vegas, a two star hotel at most, but it beat a lot of the hotel/motel crime scenes they dealt with.

"Excuse me sir, have you seen a man by this description around here?" Brass asked holding up the picture.

"I don't give out information to just anyone for free." The man grinned slightly.

"I'd make an exception." Brass smirked, flashing his badge.

"Oh, sorry officer." The man embarrassedly apologized. "I've seen him around, I think, but I'm not sure…" His eyes flashed to something behind Brass, Nick and Grissom and they turned around, hands automatically flying to their holsters.

"Don't shoot!"

--&

A/N: Okay, so I hope that was decent, I'm trying to get back into some more action ahha it was pretty boring there for a few chapters I think. MARCH BREAK! YESSS! It's March Break now and I'm super happy lol and tonight is a new CSI so im even more super happy! Yay! Anyways, tell me how you liked it, thanks a lot!


	29. Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE:

A/N: So March break was pretty fun, spent almost all of it in Toronto lol, so it was pretty darn cool. k! On with the story!

--&

"Don't shoot! Don't turn around and don't shoot!" A deep male voice screamed from behind them. Grissom, who didn't carry a gun, turned slightly to the side to try and get a physical description of the man.

"I'm going to turn around slowly," Grissom confidently told the man as he turned the slightest bit more.

"You're just going to turn around and fucking shoot me." The man laughed. "Don't move another muscle or I'll blow your head off."

"I don't carry." Grissom told him, raising his hands in the air as he kept turning. He didn't want to shoot the guy; he just wanted to look at him.

"You're a fucking cop, of course you carry." The man scoffed.

"I'm not a cop- I'm a CSI." Grissom explained.

"Whatever." The man obviously didn't care. "Stop right there or I'll blow you're head off." He threatened again, but there was a slight waver in his voice. Grissom turned again and could see the man out of the corner of his eye. He should have known.

"Grissom," Brass warned him to stop moving, but Grissom ignored him and turned the rest of the way around so he was facing the man, more confident now that he knew the man's identity. He raised his arms in the air and took a step forward.

"I don't have a gun, I promise." Grissom's voice was as confident as ever. "Besides, I swear I don't, but if I did have a gun, you'd kill me by the time I had the thing out of my holster." The man sighed in defeat and lowered the gun a bit, focusing all of his attention on Grissom; he didn't see Brass reaching ever so slowly for his gun. "Now tell me where he is."

"Where is who?" He wanted to play dumb, push this brave man to his limits, to see how far he could go before he cracked.

"You know who I'm talking about." Grissom replied, "I know you do, so don't bother pretending you don't."

"If I knew who you were talking about, I still wouldn't tell you." The man smiled.

"As hard as I try, I can never quite understand people like you." Grissom shook his head in contemplation. He could play this game.

"People like me?" The man inquired.

"Killers, rapists, people who take advantage of others at their most vulnerable moments." Grissom smirked, seeing the man pale with every word. "But most of all, people who are capable of these things and still let other people boss them around and tell them what to do. How they're still able to wrap you around their finger…"

"Shut up." The man warned.

"…how they can understand you so well, they can make you obey them, make you do anything…" The man raised his gun again.

"Shut up." His voice was louder and stronger this time. Grissom knew he shouldn't anger the man, but he couldn't help himself, it was so easy to do, and he knew that he was going to get something out of him soon.

"…maybe it's blackmail, they have proof of your crimes so you have to obey them, or maybe you're weaker than your victims ever were…"

"Shut up!" The man screamed, the tears in his eyes visible now. He cocked his gun, and Grissom knew he could go no further.

"We're not in an interrogation room here Grissom," Nick warned from behind him.

"I'm aware of that." Grissom hissed back, but he wasn't sure if he had been before when he was talking, disregarding the warnings to stop. He was so used to being in a controlled environment where he was untouchable that he forgot how uncontrollable regular society was, he forgot how easy it was to get yourself killed when really, he shouldn't have, considering he saw it every day. It was at this point that Brass flipped out his gun and fired at the suspect, who in turn fired. Nick took this opportunity to radio in.

"This is CSI Stokes, we've got an officer and a suspect down, send the paramedics now, I repeat, officer down."

--&

Greg continued to hold Sara's hand long after her breathing evened out and she was in a deep sleep. He felt like he needed to, he needed to have his hand over hers, he was scared for her, he needed to feel her pulse, to be reminded she was alive because though only minutes before she'd been talking to him, her sleeping formed was so pale, bruised and peaceful at the same time… it just plain scared him, and he knew it shouldn't because they dealt with death every day, but as mean as it might sound, he knew that dealing with the death of _someone _was different than dealing with the death of someone you were close to. True, every victim was close to someone, every victim was someone's daughter, someone's best friend, someone's sister, but not his. Sara was his best friend, and if she died, he didn't know what he'd do. He also knew too well what she was going through, for although he hadn't personally endured such a traumatic experience, his baby sister had only years before, and he'd spent his days holding her hand, making her smile, watching her sleep, until one day, she never woke up. That's what scared him most. The resemblance Sara had to his sister when she slept. The bruises and cuts such a contradiction to the look of pure peace on her face, that's how his sister had looked that morning, when Greg had woken up, sun shining through the hospital room window, birds chirping in the maple tree outside, and sometime during the night, he'd let go of her hand, something she asked him not to do. Those had been the last words she said to him, and he knew he'd never forget them. "Greg, I need you to hold my hand, I need to know you're here, protecting me." That had been goodbye, and he wasn't going to make that mistake again, he wasn't going to lose Sara. He knew it was silly, thinking that it made a difference, holding someone's hand, to whether they did or did not die, but it didn't make sense why someone had done this to Sara, why someone had done this to his sister, why someone would do this to anyone, it didn't make any more sense than wanting to hold her hand, and by god, if they got to hurt her, he was going to hold her hand, and he was not going to lose her, not this time.

--&

"Did you see that?" Lindsay asked Warrick, wide-eyed as soon as they reached the waiting room that was getting all too familiar to them.

"See what sweetie?" Warrick asked, not sure what she meant since a lot of things had just transpired.

"In Sara's room." Lindsay explained.

"No, I didn't look in Sara's room as we went by, what did you see?" Warrick's curiosity had been piqued.

"Greg," Lindsay told him, "He was crying."

"Greg was crying in Sara's hospital room?" Warrick wondered how Lindsay had managed to see all of that while they were walking by.

"Yeah, I looked in there while you were talking to the nurse about my Mom. Greg was sitting by Sara's bed, he was holding her hand and crying." Lindsay nodded, to help convince him. "Is Sara okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine Linds, Greg and Sara are close… he's probably just upset." Warrick explained, but wondered himself why Greg would be so emotional. He and Catherine were planning on starting a relationship, they were in love, and had he cried? He might have let a few tears slip out, but not really. Did that mean that Greg and Sara were closer than they'd suspected, or did that mean that Greg was just an over-emotional person? He had been a CSI for a lot less time than the rest of them, he wasn't as used to the job, hadn't developed the knack to hide emotions.

"Okay." Lindsay nodded. Warrick smiled. Lindsay was still so young and innocent- she was willing to believe Sara was fine just because Warrick said so, even though he didn't know it for a fact. He was glad that Catherine was able to give Lindsay that chance, to be young, innocent, naïve… it was something he never got to be. His parents had died when he was so young and his Grandmother had done her best to bring him up, he knew that and was forever grateful to her for it, but he still had seen things, experienced things that a child his age should have never had to, but he had accepted that fact long ago, years and years ago, there was no point in living in the past now when he could live in the present, and the future, and right now, his future was looking bright, if it included Catherine and Lindsay, that was. "Can we go visit Sara, Warrick? Can we go make sure Greg is okay?"

"Sure Lindsay." Warrick nodded. He knew that if Greg was crying, he probably wouldn't want Warrick and Lindsay to see, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him, and there was no way he could say no when Lindsay looked at him with those big blue eyes of hers, the same ones he saw when he looked at her mother.

"Let's go." She smiled. Warrick smiled back and stood up. She had Catherine's smile too, and when she looked at him with those big blue eyes and that perfect smile, he could never say no.

--&

A/N: Okay, I should go to bed now because I have a hugee headache even with the Tylenol, and I'm sick and tired and ughh I'm a complainer haha. Anyways, I tried to go a bit of a different way with this chapter, a more in-depth look at some of it, I'm trying to improve my writing haha, so I hope it was alright. PLEASE review and thanks a ton to everyone who's been reviewing, I lovee you guys, you keep me writing!


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing throughout these thirty chapters… this isn't the ending but I think it's nearing… I had a much larger plan for this story but it's changed a lot just naturally because I'm not one to follow plans haha so there should be maybe five more chapters I think… but since I don't plan far ahead because I know I wouldn't follow the plan anyways… who knows. Hope you enjoy it!

--&

"Hey man," Warrick called softly to Greg, since Sara appeared to be sleeping, a rare occurrence they wanted to prolong as long as they could.

"Hey." Greg sighed, Warrick's voice pulling him out of his thoughts.

"How's Sara holding up?" Warrick inquired as he sat down in one of the chairs next to the bed, Lindsay settling in on his knee.

"Alright I guess. She's already asked more than twice when she gets to leave which is a sure sign she's getting better." Greg showed a hint of a smile on his face. Warrick noticed how tightly clasped Greg and Sara's hands were and wondered if there was something more going on between them than they were letting on. Everyone knew that Greg used to have a schoolboy crush on Sara, but figured he was over it by now.

"Why were you crying Greg?" Lindsay spoke, barley above a whisper. Warrick bit his lip to keep from smiling at the young girl's Catherine-like abruptness.

"I'm just overwhelmed by the situation Lindsay… it just brings back memories that I don't like to remember." Greg hoped this would serve explanation enough, but highly doubted it would with even Lindsay who seemed to have inherited more than just good looks from Catherine, and was certain it wouldn't with Warrick. Lindsay just nodded.

"It kind of makes me think of… think of when my daddy died." Lindsay's voice was a barley audible whisper now, but luckily the two men were listening to so intently they were able to make out the sentence, but neither knew what to say. Warrick put his arms around her, he knew she'd been through a really rough time when her father died, but it seemed to be better for her lately, but naturally nearly losing her Mom would make her think of how she lost her Dad only years before. "I had to come to the hospital then too, but that time, I was the one in the hospital bed and my Mom was visiting me. She saved my life. I thought I was going to die in that car…" Lindsay let a few sobs escape her body as she continued explaining and expressing her emotions about the incident she'd been in, the incident that got her father killed, which she'd kept all to herself for the past few years, to Warrick and Greg who were hanging onto every barley audible word. "But then my Mom came, and I thought she wasn't going to save me in time… I thought she was going to drown too, in the car with me… I didn't know what was going to happen, but she saved my life… why couldn't I have saved her life? Why couldn't I have gone and saved my Mom when she was in trouble like she saved me?"

"Lindsay," Warrick started, very unsure of what to say. "Honey, you couldn't have saved your Mom's life like she saved yours… it was a very different situation. What happened to you and your Dad, that was an accident, and it was the most unfortunate thing in the world for you to have to experience, but it was the type of accident where someone could save you… but what happened to your Mom and Sara… that was a personal attack… the kind that you can't be saved from easily. It's hard to explain Linds, but do you sort of understand?" She nodded. "But you know what? In a way, you are helping to save your Mom because you're here, at the hospital, for her. You're there to hug her and tell her everything'll be okay and she appreciates that more than anything else." Warrick hoped Lindsay understood what he was trying to say because he couldn't think of any other way to try and explain everything he wanted to. Greg was amazed by Warrick and his ability to communicate with Lindsay, and console her. As far as he knew, Warrick had never really been around kids much. Casinos, clubs and girls? Yes. Kids? No.

"I understand Warrick." Lindsay seemed to cheer up a bit.

"I'm glad." Warrick smiled down at her, making her face break into a smile as well. Greg was content to simply watch the interaction between the two, he understood perfectly now how everyone had been mistaking them for family all day- they did seem like family, the way they could talk and smile at each other with such ease, the way they understood exactly what the other was trying to convey… Greg was beginning to wonder how much time Warrick spent with Lindsay and Catherine outside of work because if this interaction was any indication, the answer was a lot of time.

"Is everything alright with Catherine?" Greg asked, wondering for the first time why they were in here with him, and a sleeping Sara, instead of staying with Catherine.

"Not currently, but it will be soon." Warrick answered, "They were just giving her a check up when they found some internal bleeding they missed before. They've taken her back into surgery but there's no risk with the surgery, she'll be fine."

"That's good, that she'll be fine, I mean." Greg stumbled over his words a bit.

"Yeah." Warrick nodded. "But I'll still feel better when she's back in her hospital room, and out of the OR." Greg just nodded. "Geeze though, you'd think they would have caught everything in the OR, or during the first check up."

"We make mistakes in our job too." Greg pointed out in hopes to calm Warrick down.

"Yeah I guess." Warrick said, calming down considerably. He considered snapping at Greg and telling him that maybe if these doctors were going to make mistakes, they shouldn't have a job where someone's life was at stake, but he thought of Holly Gribbs and realized people's lives depended on his job too, and he'd made mistakes that caused lives to be lost in his line of work, so he couldn't complain about them. Besides, he wasn't going to blow up and get into an argument with Greg while Lindsay was sitting on his lap.

--&

As soon as Nick finished radioing in their situation and location, he was at Grissom's side reassuring him everything would be alright. "Grissom, you've got to stay awake alright? You've got to stay awake." Nick pleaded as his boss's eyes fluttered open and shut. Nick could tell he was trying as hard as he could to keep them open, but knew from experience that falls like the one he just took made it hard to stay awake. After Nick was convinced Grissom was at least trying to stay awake, he moved to observe the rest of Grissom's injuries.

"How's he doing?" Brass asked from behind Nick.

"Obvious concussion, I'm trying to keep him awake. Gunshot penetrated his calf…" Nick evaluated the situation the best he could.

"Well the ambulance is on it's way, luckily the guy didn't die- we can still get information on him because he knows something, obviously." Brass filled in Nick.

"Yeah, and he better talk." Nick lightly threatened as he applied pressure to Grissom's wound in attempts to slow the bleeding.

"Hey Gil," Brass knelt down beside his friend since Nick was busy trying to stop the bleeding; he decided he'd try and keep Grissom awake. "I'm sorry you got shot, although I think I hit some more vital organs in him than he hit in you luckily." Grissom's eyes were still fluttering open and closed and he made no move to speak, he didn't know what to say and he was too tired to talk. "You know as well as I do that you've got to stay awake because you have a concussion, so try to." Brass smirked. "Right now I'm trying to keep you awake by talking to you, but as you can tell, I'm not doing a very good job. If it was me that was shot, you'd probably say something insightful, quote somebody, but I can't think of anyone to quote at the moment…" Brass was interrupted by the arrival of the paramedics. "You're gonna be okay Gil." Nick and Brass watched as Grissom was loaded onto an ambulance quickly, stats being shouted between paramedics and sirens were wailing as another ambulance pulled up at the scene and began working on the suspect they'd just apprehended. "You better be okay." Brass muttered under his breath as the ambulance with Grissom inside of it sped off in the direction of Desert Palms Hospital.

--&

"Hey has anyone gone through Catherine and Sara's clothes yet, for traces of other possible suspects?" Warrick wondered aloud.

"Don't think so, but we have Ryan Whittle and John Hamilton already and Catherine said there were only two of them there…" Greg pointed out.

"Yeah, but there were times where she was blindfolded or passed out." Warrick countered.

"I guess." Greg nodded. "Do you want to go ask someone where we might find their clothes?" Greg hoped Warrick would do it because he didn't want to leave Sara's side… he didn't want to let go of her hand and he didn't want to explain why at the moment.

"Sure." Warrick nodded. He carefully lifted Lindsay, who had fallen asleep, out of his lap, placing her back down gently on the chair. "Be right back." Greg waited patiently while Warrick left the room in search of a nurse. He'd sit there with Sara forever while she slept. He chided himself for this, for he was not a superstitious person and deep inside he knew it made no difference if he held her hand her not, from a medical point of view, but sometimes, whether someone died or lived was a matter of their personal drive to live, and he figured that he'd be more likely to want to live if someone loved him enough to sit by his side while he slept and hold his hand for hours on end. By the time he was done thinking, Warrick had returned with two bags.

"Sara's clothes, Catherine's clothes." He set them down on the foot of Sara's bed. Sara stirred and opened an eye.

"Hey Warrick, hey Greg." She said lazily, still tired from just waking up. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"I'm not too sure." Greg shrugged, truthfully, he'd lost track of time since he wasn't wearing a watch and hadn't looked at his cell phone to see the time since he'd talked on it last… and he'd been so lost in his thoughts he didn't even have an estimate.

"Oh well." Sara shrugged, "At least I got some sleep." That's when she noticed the contents of the translucent bags Warrick had set at the foot of her bed. "Those are our clothes, from when we were attacked."

"Yeah." Warrick nodded sympathetically. Seeing the blood on their clothes must have been harder for Sara than it was for him.

"Can I see my jeans for a minute?" She asked.

"Sara, you know they're evidence." Greg told her.

"But there's something I need to get out of the pocket… no one else needs to see it."

"What is it?" Warrick asked.

"If I tell you can I have it?" Sara propositioned him.

"Maybe." Greg joined in.

"Okay." Sara sighed. "It's a poem."

"A poem?" Greg wondered.

"Yes, a poem. And I don't want anyone else to see it." Sara hoped they'd just give it to her. Grissom had heard it already, and most likely Archie and Nick by now, seeing as Archie dealt with all audio and video tapes, and Nick and Grissom were the only CSI's that weren't at the hospital. "I wrote it a long time ago… and I just want it back." To her surprise, Warrick, using gloves he'd acquired from a box of supplies on the counter beside all of Sara's machines reached into the bag and pulled a piece of paper out of Sara's jean pocket. "Thank you."

"Not so fast." Warrick smirked, "I know this is mean, but you won't be able to beat me up for it for a while." Sara sent him her most ferocious glare, but since she was stuck in a hospital bed, it didn't faze him. "Can you tell us why you don't want us to read it?" Sara didn't know. They were her best friends, why couldn't she let them understand what she felt? They knew all of her secrets now anyways… but they didn't know how much she let it affect her yet.

"No." She whispered.

"Sara, we'll most likely have to read it anyways." Greg pointed out. That's when she realized that Greg was still holding her hand. He had sat with her the whole time she'd been sleeping, not moving, not getting comfortable himself, just holding her hand. Warrick was in here making sure she was okay, and Lindsay was asleep on a chair in the room. They really did care about her a lot, she had to accept the fact that for once in her life, she had amazing friends who would do anything for her, to help her through all the stuff she had to figure out.

"Fine." She gave in. "Read it, but you can't make fun of me."

"Sara, we know that this is obviously very personal for you, we wouldn't use something like this against you, you know that." Greg reassured her. Sara nodded with a hint of a smile on her face. Maybe things would be okay after all.

--&

A/N: Okay so not too much happened in this chapter, but you found out who got shot if you didn't guess already lol. Please review because I love feedback and it makes me want to write a lot faster haha. Thanks!


	31. Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they're greatly appreciated! Wow, I have nothing to say in an note… hmm, didn't think this day would come haha usually I have too much to say :P.

--&

As Warrick unfolded the paper, Sara shut her eyes. She felt even more vulnerable now than she did earlier when she had read the poem while the tape was recording it. This was the first time she'd voluntarily let anyone read any of her poems. What if they thought she was completely stupid for not being able to just talk about things like a normal person? What if they got worried about her and thought she was suicidal? The what-ifs kept bouncing around in her head as Warrick unfolded the poem and held it between Greg and himself so they could both read it easily.

_And as I sit here alone trapped in my emotions with no way out, I can't help thinking of you and wishing you would come be my fairytale ending. Funny how I've lived my whole life never taking the risk of sharing a thought, never telling an emotion, never letting anyone see a tear slip down my cheek. Never letting the pain go away, never letting the love in. Never able to accept, to acknowledge, any emotions for years at a time until one day I give up and I break down, but always alone. I would never let anyone see that I am as weak as the rest of the world, I can't. I keep telling myself I don't need anyone, especially you, but the words you say, I can't help but let them get into my head, and I don't understand why. I resent things I don't understand and I therefore resent you. I know that I'm slowly digging an emotional whole and burying myself alive in my thoughts, but I can't stop myself. Your tear stained words ring through my head. Why do you care what I think of you? My opinion doesn't matter, it shouldn't, I know nothing, and I am nothing. I have nothing to offer except a cold hearted opinion which you will value too much for your own good. It's sad how much reliance we put into one opinion. How is it that one person's words can scar a heart for eternity? I despise this confusing world. I think I might love you, but to love, you have to trust. I can't trust, and I can't talk about why, because to do so, I would have to relive the memories I promised myself I'd forgotten. I promised myself I'd forgotten them, and I've been lied to too many times to lie to myself. How can I be sure you won't lie to me too? You've already made me promises, and as soon as you make a promise you are setting yourself up for heartbreak and disappointment. If I've learned anything, it's to promise nothing. You can't be certain you will be able to keep a promise because who we are is always changing due to every single emotion we experience, every single thought we think. Promises are death to trust, and I've made too many, I've had too many made to me. Every promise is broken, and every broken promise breaks my heart again. My heart is in too many pieces to fix, and you told me you'd fix it. You promised, and you haven't, you never will, and there is another promise, another blow to my heart. Stop trying to help because you're only making things worse. Just leave me alone with my thoughts, I don't need you, I don't need anyone. All you do is get optimistic beliefs stuck in my head, and I am not an optimistic person, I am an honest person, and I can honestly say I don't want to love you. I can honestly say that I am falling in love with you, more and more so with every word you say, so if you love me at all, you'll leave. I don't want to remember your words. I don't want to feel your tears. "Tears represent passion, a passion that cannot be expressed through words or letters, but only through your soul and your eyes. Tears bond us together, and rip us apart. They explain everything we can't convey otherwise… they tell us everything we need to know without telling us anything at all. Let your tears go, I'll hold you while you cry." That's what you told me, and for one second, I believed you. I thought you'd stay forever and hold me while I cried, while I let all my emotions disappear leaving me blank and open. An erased book that has to be re-written. You could be my happy ending, but then, after that one second, I remember that I don't want a happy ending, I don't deserve one. Let me go, I don't want you to hold me while I cry. I'm stronger than that, I'm stronger than you. Let me live the way I want, emotionless, alone and in denial. You can live which ever way you choose, so let me choose my way. You'll understand someday when you've been broken, when you've been shattered the ways in which I have. Only then can you come back to me, only then we'll be together. We can sit, quiet and alone, trapped in our emotions, burying ourselves alive with our thoughts. Choking quietly on tears we're too strong to let free. Together we'll reflect silently on our lives, together we'll leave the disappointments and sorrow behind. Together we'll leave this world forever, but only then. _

After Warrick and Greg finished the poem, they just looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Sara, assuming their silence was an indication that they hadn't liked the poem, busied her self with trying to decide which what-if they were thinking instead of concentrating on disappearing into the floor, because she knew that was more of a waste of energy, and she didn't like to waste the little energy she had at the moment. Warrick realized that neither Greg or he had said a word since they finished the poem and decided he should say something. "Wow. Sara, just wow." Was al he thought of to say.

"You liked it?" She asked, genuinely surprised.

"Very much liked it." Greg nodded vigorously, "I just… I just didn't think you could feel that strongly about … things."

"Thanks, I think." Sara smiled, relieved.

"But that sucks, all the horrible stuff you had to go through…" Warrick walked around to the side of the bed and gave Sara a careful hug, so not to hurt her.

"I've always gotten through it, and I don't think there's much more that I could have to go through that I haven't already been through." Sara shrugged. "And if there is, I'll get through it too."

"But not alone anymore. We're always going to be here for you." Greg squeezed her hand reassuringly and gave her a smile.

"Thanks. A lot." Sara smiled weakly back, "I don't know if you guys know how much that means to me. I've never had anyone that has always, unconditionally been there for me, but you guys have ever since I moved to Vegas and got to know you, and I know you mean it when you say you always will be."

"Good, because we do." Warrick reassured her.

"We do what, Warrick?" Lindsay mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she woke up.

"Nothing sweetie, we're just talking." Warrick answered.

"Oh." Lindsay opened her eyes again and yawned. "Hi Sara, did you have a good sleep?"

"I did Lindsay, thank you. And did you?" Sara answered, and returned the question.

"Yup." Lindsay nodded with a smile. "Is my Mom better yet?"

"Not yet, little girl." Greg pinched her cheek playfully, "But she should be back in her room soon."

"Something happened to Catherine?" Sara asked worriedly.

"They found more internal bleeding and took her back to the OR." Warrick explained calmly. "She'll be fine, it's not a problem, they said they caught it early enough that the surgery's no risk, it just has to be done." He continued upon seeing the look of horror and worry that hit Sara's face as the words left his mouth, and then disappeared with the explanation.

"And you didn't tell me this earlier?" Sara marveled.

"We didn't want to worry you." Greg told her quickly.

"Thanks for your concern." Sara remarked sarcastically.

"Anytime." Greg over-exaggeratedly winked. Sara just rolled her eyes at him. And that's when they noticed, outside in the hall, Catherine being wheeled back into her room.

"Mom!" Lindsay exclaimed lazily with a smile, she wasn't quite awake yet.

"We'll go check how Catherine's surgery went, alright?" Warrick informed Sara and Greg, who nodded. "And Sara, I loved your poem, alright? And we'll be right across the hall, and back to see you in a while."

"Thanks Warrick, see you later!" Sara called as they exited the room. As soon as they were out of the doorway, a nurse appeared.

"Ms. Sidle?" She asked upon entering.

"Yes?" Sara answered worriedly, "Is something wrong?"

"Well yes, but not with you." She answered, and quickly continued at the quizzical looks she received. "It's Mr. Grissom."

"Something's wrong with Grissom?" Greg clarified.

"Yes, he's just been brought it. He was shot." The nurse answered eyes wide and filled with concern.

"Oh my god!" Sara exclaimed. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He's in the OR right now, but they're almost positive they'll be able to get him stable soon. You CSI's are keeping our hospital quite busy today." She joked.

"We are." Greg nodded, "Could you tell us when Grissom's out of surgery?"

"Sure." She nodded, and scurried out of the room.

"You and Catherine like this in here, and now Grissom, shot and in here? This is one hell of a dangerous case." Greg remarked.

"I know." Sara was staring down at the bed, but Greg could tell by her voice that she had tears in her eyes. "I wish that Ryan would have just left me alone. I wish he wouldn't have come after you guys too…" Greg saw a tear drip slowly off of her face and onto the sheet of the bed, and he tightened his grip on her hand.

"Sidle, I thought we went over this already." Greg pretended to be mad, but there was a smile on his face. "It is not your fault that you're so damn beautiful that Ryan Whittle and John Hamilton got obsessed to the point of hurting you and the ones you loved just so they could have an impact on your life." Sara just snickered at Greg's compliment of her being beautiful, but the tears ceased, and were replaced by sniffles. "I'm serious Sara," Greg pressed on, using his hand to wipe away her tears since hers were, well, in casts.

"Thanks Greg." Sara smiled, looking up at him. "How is it that you can always make me feel better?"

"It's the charm." Greg nodded with a smirk. The playful atmosphere that filled Sara's hospital room, however, did not carry over to Catherine's.

--&

"Hey Cath." Warrick smiled as he and Lindsay entered the room. Warrick gave her a peck on the cheek and she winced. "What's wrong?" His smile disappeared.

"Stupid hospitals." She muttered.

"Cath?" Warrick sat down, very worried now.

"They kept saying there was no risk this time… no need to worry…" She mumbled.

"Catherine," Warrick said her name in a more demanding tone this time.

"What?" She looked towards him.

"Tell me what's going on, alright?" He hoped she would, because he was getting very scared.

"They told me that there was no risk for this surgery, they promised!" Catherine's eyes filled with tears as they stayed locked with Warrick's.

"Warrick," Lindsay whispered, "What's going on?"

"Why don't you go and see what Sara and Greg are up to, alright Linds?"

"Sure." She nodded before bolting off.

"I didn't mean to scare her." Catherine apologized.

"It's fine Cath, you're obviously not thinking straight right now, why don't you try and get some sleep?" Warrick suggested.

"Warrick?" Catherine whispered as her eyes.

"Yeah Cath?" Warrick answered, his fingers delicately brushing the hair out of her face.

"Can you hold my hand, while I sleep?" She requested, "I need to know you're there."

"Sure." Warrick moved his other hand to tightly clasp hers as her eyes fluttered shut, troubles forgotten.

--&

A/N: Alright, well REVIEW PLEASE! And thanks again to everyone who's been reviewing, you make my day! PS: If anyone has myspace, add me k haha because I just got a new one since my other one I had to delete, long story. 


	32. Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32:

A/N: Alright, so I haven't updated in like a million years, but I've been ultra busy! Singing competition things were this week, and I did pretty well- two firsts and a second so I have to go perform in finals tomorrow night… anyhow, that's what I've been mostly working on lately… and some other writing projects like a play in a contemporary setting based on William Blake's poems "The Divine Image" "A Divine Image" and "The Human Abstract" it's very entertaining to write:P Here we go…

--&

A quiet knock on the door drew Sara and Greg's attention to Lindsay who entered the room with a fearful look on her face.

"What's wrong Lindsay?" Greg furrowed his eyebrows as Lindsay climbed up on Sara's bed, sitting with her legs crossed, face in hands, crying.

"I don't know." She shrugged through her tears. Greg put a comforting hand on her back. "Warrick and I went to see my Mom, but she was acting really scary. I think something's really wrong with her." Lindsay whispered. Neither Sara nor Greg were exactly sure of what to say.

"Why don't I go ask the nurse what's going on alright?" Greg suggested, and left the room quickly after taking notice of Lindsay and Sara's nods. Sara wasn't sure what to tell Lindsay, because she had no idea what was wrong with Catherine, and she didn't want to say the wrong thing, where Lindsay was afraid she was disrupting Sara's rest by continuously reentering and leaving.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your talk with Greg." Lindsay apologized.

"Lindsay, it's fine, really." Sara reassured her, wondering how her CSI skills could disappear so quickly once she was the victim. That was twice in a few hours where she had completely taken someone's body language and misevaluated a situation… this only reminded her to get more of a grip on herself. She had to pull it together if she wanted to get out of there any time soon…

"Are you sure? I mean, I keep coming in here and you can't get any sleep…" Lindsay rambled.

"It's completely fine, I'm sure!" Sara reassured her once more. "I'm sure your Mom is just a little shaky and tired after her surgery. I bet she'll be good as new once she get's some rest."

"You're sure?" Lindsay looked up at Sara, bright blue eyes shining with hope.

"I'm sure." Sara nodded with a faint smile. She really wasn't, but there was no way she would tell Lindsay that. "Now why don't you rest in here with me for a while, you could use some sleep, I bet!" Sara suggested.

"Sure." Lindsay nodded, and lay down on the bed beside Sara where they both closed their eyes and waited silently for sleep to claim them which was how Greg found them fifteen minutes later. Sara was sleeping on one side of the bed, Lindsay on the other. He wished he could smile and watch them sleep, but he had bigger problems on his hands. The nurse said that she couldn't tell him much because he wasn't family to Catherine, and unfortunately, Warrick wouldn't leave Catherine's side, and had now fallen asleep, making it impossible to find anything out. After protesting that he had Catherine's little girl crying in Sara's hospital room because she didn't know what was wrong with her Mom, the nurse caved a bit, and let him know that something had gone wrong with the surgery but it could be easily fixed. Greg had then sighed in defeat and headed back to Sara's room. He took one last look before he headed down towards reception where he hoped to find out which OR Grissom was in. Maybe he could help Nick or Brass… or he could process evidence, there was still a lot to be processed, Greg decided.

--&

"Do you know anything yet?" Brass asked a nurse as she left the OR.

"I'm not allowed to tell you that." She repeated what she'd told Brass many times before, in fact periodically since Mr. Grissom had been brought in. "I'll let you know when Mr. Grissom is out of the OR."

"So he's going to make it then?" Brass pressed.

"He should." She sighed, feeling sympathetic towards him, not knowing anything about the condition of his friend.

"Thank you." Brass sighed, relieved, but still not completely satisfied for it was still not a certain thing that Grissom would live, but before he could ask for a percentile or any more definite information or details, the nurse disappeared back into the OR.

"Hey Brass." Nick returned from the bathroom, changing his clothes and washing Grissom's blood off of himself.

"Hey Nick." Brass sighed as he dejectedly slumped down into a chair. Nick could tell the older man, who had known Grissom a lot longer than he had, was taking the situation harder than he was.

"I know I don't quite understand what you're going through, since you and Grissom go so far back and all… but if you need to talk or anything…" Nick tried to put his thoughts into words the best he could.

"Thanks." Brass smiled weakly at Nick, who was getting more and more worried by the minute at the way Brass was acting so unlike himself.

"So do you have any word at all on how Grissom's doing?" Nick asked, in hopes he did.

"The only thing I've been told other than I'm not allowed to know anything is that he should make it." Brass answered; obviously annoyed that he had no authority or control over the situation.

"Well that's good… I guess." Nick answered. He was glad that Grissom 'should' make it. He as well wished they had something more definite, but at least they hadn't heard anything negative yet. "Do you know who his next of kin is?"

"I have no idea." Brass shrugged, wishing he did. "Maybe we should go find out."

"Maybe." Nick repeated, sitting down in the chair beside Brass.

"Maybe what?" Greg asked as he approached the pair. "How's Grissom?"

"We don't know. He should be okay is all we've been told." Nick recapped for Greg. "We're considering finding out who his next of kin is and how soon they can get here."

"Good idea, why don't I go do that?" Greg suggested, and hurried off. He had no idea what happened, why Grissom got shot or how badly he was doing when he entered the hospital, but that could wait. Rushing back up towards the receptionist's desk he nearly knocked over a few doctors and nurses in the process, which was probably a normal occurrence for them, he figured. They must have angry, frustrated patients and families and friends of patients taking their anger out on them all the time. "Hi, my name is Greg Sanders, and I was wondering if you've contacted the next of kin for Gil Grissom?" Greg asked as fast as he possibly could upon reaching the receptionist's desk.

"Please wait a moment sir, I'll have to check…" The receptionist told him, living up to her slow reputation she'd earned over the past few hours when the CSI's had been about the hospital. After what seemed like forever, she found Grissom's file and began searching down memory lane to see if she had made the phone call to Grissom's emergency contact who he still didn't know the identity of.

"Can you at least tell me who it is?"

"Mr. Grissom has two next of kins." The receptionist informed him. "One is a Catherine Willows, and the other a Joanne Grissom."

"Where does Mrs. Grissom live? Has she been contacted?" Greg pressed, pursuing the obvious choice considering Catherine was upstairs in her own hospital room barley coping with her problems and now with surgical complications… she couldn't take on the role of Grissom-caring at the moment… so Grissom's mother, he assumed, would be the natural choice.

"She has been contacted." The receptionist confirmed. "But she won't be here for a little while seeing as she lives in California. She said she'll be catching a plane as soon as she can." Greg groaned out loud, thanked the receptionist and left, hurrying back to where Brass and Nick were waiting outside the OR.

"Hey guys." He called to them as he rounded the corner.

"You don't look or sound happy…" Nick observed, "Please tell me he at least had a next of kin!"

"Two actually." Greg informed them. "One was Catherine, and the other Joanne Grissom."

"Catherine and his mother." Brass smiled weakly, "Makes sense. Is Catherine in any condition to get information about Grissom at the moment?"

"Hardly." Greg realized they didn't have the slightest clue how Sara or Catherine were doing, nor did he have the slightest clue what had transpired and ended with Grissom getting shot, or what was going on with the case. "She had to go back into surgery for a simple correction of some missed internal bleeding, and they encountered a problem of sorts, but that was all I was able to find out. She scared Lindsay who is now sleeping in Sara's room, Sara's sleeping as well, and Warrick's calming Catherine… they fell asleep too." Greg explained. "Grissom's Mom is catching the next plane from California."

"Right, and let's make sure they have a translator around here somewhere…" Brass suggested, eager to do something if it was going to help Grissom in some way.

"What language does she speak?" Greg wondered.

"The language of the hands."

--&

Warrick woke with a start to find himself in Catherine's hospital room, holding Catherine's hand. Even when she was so confused, frustrated and angry while awake, she still looked beautiful and completely at peace while she slept. He let go of her hand carefully and slowly. He needed to go find her doctor, or one of her nurses to explain to him what exactly Catherine had been talking about before she'd scared Lindsay and gone to sleep. Tiptoeing out of the room and down the hall, he noticed Lindsay asleep in Sara's room and sighed in relief, knowing Sara and Greg had cheered her up and she was resting, and Sara was as well. He didn't know where Greg had gotten to, maybe to the lab? But the clothes they were meant to process ages ago were still situated in Sara's room, so he was probably around the hospital somewhere… "Hello, I'm Warrick Brown. I was wondering if you could give me any information on Catherine Willows?"

"Well, we had a bit of a problem with the surgery." The doctor, recognizing Warrick from earlier when he had seen him with Catherine, and understood him to be Catherine's husband in a rather complicated relationship told him. "We went in, thinking we only had a tiny bit of internal bleeding to stop, therefore making it a completely safe surgery… only once we had the incision made we found that we hadn't missed bleeding, but the bleeding was just worse than it should have been, it was starting in new places even as we were operating. We'll let her rest for a bit, for surgery is grueling on the body and we don't want to overexert her, but in about two hours we're going back to the OR to fix the problem once and for all. We know for sure what we're dealing with now, and we'll be able to fix it."

"But what went wrong the first time? Or the second time even? Why did you misdiagnose her then?" Warrick asked in an accusatory tone. He hated that Catherine had been put through more than she should have been. She didn't need all the unnecessary physical exertion with all the physiological problems she'd be experiencing from this event. Not to mention what it was doing to her daughter, or him.

"We were trying to keep her alive then." The doctor attempted to explain himself, but his pager went off. Glancing at it, he shot Warrick an apologetic look and ran off down the hallway the way he had been coming.

"Right then." Warrick muttered to himself before heading back into Catherine's room and sitting back down in the chair, taking hold of her hand once more. He watched her sleep until he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Shutting them, he drifted off to sleep with dreams of what things would be like when they were all past this horrible time in their life…

--&

A/N: So it's three thirty in the morning now so I should probably try and sleep or get tired or something soon, or at least eat… aha I hope you guys enjoyed that- pleaseee review! They're muchly appreciated! Thanks!


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

A/N: So it's been what, forever? Yeah. Sorry about my slowness, I am defiantly slow sometimes hah. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Next chapter here we come:

--&

Catherine opened her eyes. Her body was racked with pain, every inch of her was screaming for relief from it. Wishing she were back asleep, oblivious to it all, she slowly turned her head to check her surroundings.

"Catherine?" She heard a relieved voice to the right of her exclaiming. Warrick, it was Warrick's voice. She made some sort of incoherent mumble and continued trying to focus in on any object she could. All she could see were blurs out light, the overwhelming pain was overloading her senses. "Are you okay?" Warrick asked concernedly.

"Pain." She managed to mumble, hoping he understood it. Things were starting to come a bit more into focus as she saw Warrick's form leave the room, returning moment's later with a nurse.

"Ms. Willows, how are you doing?" The nurse asked in her tiny voice.

"Pain." Was all Catherine managed to choke out again.

"Yes, there was a chance you would experience mild pain after the operation." The nurse told her gently. Mild pain? This was mild pain?

"Lots and lots of pain." Catherine's anger and frustration were able to help her choke out more words.

"I think she wants some morphine." Warrick told the nurse.

"She should have been given some already by Dr…" The nurse trailed off as she realized that no pain medications had been admitted since Catherine had gone in for surgery the second time. "Oh." The nurse exclaimed worriedly as she rushed out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Warrick demanded, but she was already gone. "It's going to be okay Cat." Catherine couldn't reply, she simply closed her eyes, begging, pleading for the pain to end. The nurse reentered the room with a rather long, intimidating needle. She injected it into Catherine's IV.

"That should help. I express my deepest apologies for the mistakes made by the operating doctor." The nurse sounded genuinely sorry.

"The doctor is a complete nut head." Warrick commented under his breath as the nurse shot him a questioning, apologetic look before leaving the room muttering apologies under her breath. "It's going to be okay Cat, you go back to sleep now." Warrick told her, as he carefully took her hand, so not to hurt her anymore, and placed it gently between his as she drifted back to sleep.

--&

Sara awoke from her nightmare with a start. Not that reality was much better at the moment. At least her nightmare reminded her that things could indeed get worse.

"Sara are you okay?" Lindsay asked from the chair beside the bed. She'd be awake for a good fifteen minutes.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" Sara smiled weakly at the girl.

"I'm alright." Lindsay nodded. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Yeah." Sara nodded, a little embarrassed. When said out loud nightmare seemed so childish. "But I'm okay now, I have nightmares a lot."

"Me too." Lindsay admitted. "What are yours about?"

"Many, many things." Sara answered honestly. "Sometimes they'll be about my childhood, sometimes about what happened yesterday, sometimes what happened to me when I was in university and sometimes simply about cases. What are your about?"

"My dad, mostly. Sometimes just about him in general. He was mean to my Mom and I sometimes, you know." Lindsay told Sara, wide-eyed and honestly. "But he couldn't help it. It wasn't his fault. Then sometimes I have nightmares about the accident."

"That must not be good." Sara commented, since she didn't know what else to say.

"No. I don't like them… how do you make them go away?" Lindsay asked. She'd never really talked to anyone about her nightmares before, since she didn't want to talk about them with her Mom in fear of upsetting her, same with her Grandmother, and she wasn't often alone with other adults.

"I really don't know Lindsay." Sara confessed, "I wish I did. Talking about them helps, I suppose. Have you told your Mom about them?"

"No." Lindsay shook her head. "I know she already feels bad enough because of everything that happened when I was little with Dad… I don't want to make her feel worse."

"Linds, you have to tell her sometime. It'll make it better, I promise." Sara told her.

"I will." Lindsay nodded, "Sometime."

--&

Back in the OR, Brass was still pacing impatiently. "Why does it take them so long to get a damn bullet out of him?" He complained.

"I don't know." Nick answered, very impatient himself. It still seemed surreal to him that this had happened to Grissom, of all people. That one of his team members, his team leader, his mentor, was lying in the operating room at the hospital, where they were waiting, with no idea whether he would make it out alive or not. "But would we find anything out if he was out of surgery anyways?"

"Well at least we'd know he was alive." Greg commented.

"He'll make it." Brass reassured them.

"How can you be sure?" Nick asked. He didn't want to give himself false hope only to find himself disappointed if something went wrong.

"This is Grissom were talking about, Nick." Greg reminded him, in case he had forgotten, "He can get through this."

"It's not about personality or perseverance Greg," Nick told him, "It's about the facts. We don't know where the bullet hit him; we don't know how smoothly the surgery is going. We honestly don't know about any prior or current medical problems Grissom has… there are too many uncertain variables for us to be certain he'll make it."

"Just have some hope Nicky." Brass said, a little coldly, before stalking off.

"I hope I didn't offend him too much." Nick sighed.

"Well Nick, his best friend for who knows how long, just got shot in the line of duty and not only can he not do a thing about it, he can't even find out how the surgery is going and then he has to sit there and listen to you explain why we shouldn't be sure he'll make it… how would you feel?"

"I was just trying to rationalize things, Greg." Nick explained.

"The hospital is no place for rationalizations." Greg replied quietly. He didn't want to pick sides, or make anyone feel worse than these last few hours had managed to make them feel. He was simply trying to mediate and make both sides of well, this argument for example, see each other's points of view. He didn't know, though, how long he would be able to do this before he cracked, or got cracked at.

--&

A/N: Sorry for the shorter length of this chapter, but I wanted to post SOMETHING considering I haven't for like a bagillion years and I apologize for that. I shall try and stay on top of my postings again, but considering we're going into final projects and exams, I don't know how that will work… fjklda please review!


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34:

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I just realized that I have a problem with ending things. I keep stories and everything I do going on and on and on forever and ever so I shall try to start to at least solve some aspects of things and bring this to a close sometime! Please stick with me till the end! It is indeed nearing! You're amazing for sticking around this long! I've been ultra busy with final projects, studying for exams, performances of singing, it's been completely hectic, but here we go:

PS: The one thing I would change first of all in writing this fanfiction is I kind of went and on and on and on, people kept going to sleep, and waking up, and going to sleep and waking up in these little naps, hah things kept happening but I never really set a time line for the story, so this is probably not a realistic thing, but let's say that the accident occurred the morning of Day One, early, early, and this is the morning of Day two? Thanks!

--&

When Catherine awoke, she felt much better than she had previous to falling asleep. Warrick was sleeping beside her bed, her hand still enclosed between his. She sighed contently as she watched him sleep, his chest rise and fall. Her eyes were then drawn, by a knock at the door, to the doorway where a disarrayed Lindsay stood.

"Hey baby!" Catherine called to her daughter quietly, as she entered, almost timidly.

"Are you feeling better Mom?" Lindsay asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I'm feeling better than last night Linds." Catherine told her, "Why don't you come sit up here beside me?" Lindsay climbed up and cautiously leaned against her mothers side. "Did you stay with Sara last night?"

"Yeah." Lindsay nodded. "She's still sleeping."

"Good." Catherine sighed. God knows Sara needed to sleep more often. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Sorta." Lindsay shrugged. It was now or never. "I had a nightmare."

"That's not good honey." Catherine sighed, wishing she was well again, so she could hold her daughter, but she couldn't. "What was it about?"

"Dad." Lindsay said, in almost a whisper. This made Catherine's breath catch in her throat.

"Have you ever had a nightmare like that before sweetie?" Catherine asked, very concernedly.

"Yeah." Lindsay nodded, "All the time."

"Linds, why didn't you ever tell me about your nightmares before this?" Catherine inquired.

"Please don't get mad at me!" Lindsay started to tear up. "I just didn't want to upset you… I know Dad used to upset you, and me too… I didn't want to bring up the accident or Dad because you were happy again, and I didn't want to make you sad!"

"Lindsay," Catherine sighed, not knowing where to begin. Where had she gone so wrong? "I'm not mad at you! I would never be mad at you over something like this, and you can always come to me if you need to talk about anything, I might get sad, but I am sad all the time about your Dad… I … you don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure?" Lindsay looked hopeful.

"Positive." Catherine nodded, gently planting a kiss on the top of her daughters head. "Now about these nightmares…" Lindsay began into a detailed explanation of her nightmares, while Catherine listened, commented and tried to help her daughter overcome this difficult stage in her life.

--&

Sara awoke to find Nick waiting, twiddling his thumbs, by her bedside.

"Hey." She spoke lazily.

"Hey Sar," He smiled at her. "How're you feeling this morning?"

"Better." She answered. "How's Grissom?" Nick's face fell at the question, which made Sara worried.

"Don't worry," He told her, detecting the emotion, "He's going to be fine." She breathed a sigh of relief. "He made it out of surgery early this morning with minimal complications, in fact, he'll probably be out of here before you!"

"That's great." Sara smiled. "But why the long face?"  
"Just some things that happened last night." Nick sighed, knowing he could tell Sara anything, and she'd stay non judgmental, and try her best to understand his point of view while still staying reasonably neutral. "I… well there was a point where I wasn't sure Grissom was going to make it. Brass and Greg, they were just so full of hope… I wanted to make sure they considered the possibility of well, him not making it. He is Grissom, but that doesn't make him invincible. He was shot, he bled… he is capable of dying too." Nick told her, in almost a whisper.

"I know Nick. I'm guessing that didn't go over to well?" Sara prompted him to continue.

"No. Brass flipped on me. Greg, well… he didn't want to take sides, I could tell, but he agreed with Brass. I felt terrible. I used to be so optimistic about everything… and this made me realize I'm not anymore. I'm not the man I used to be." Nick sighed, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration.

"Well, I am in a hospital bed on who knows what medication… but I'm not completely delirious, and I can tell you are still a great guy Nick. You seem to always do the right thing when it comes down to making a decision and you stand by what you believe in… I look up to you for that." Sara told him.

"Thanks Sar." He sent her a grateful smile.

"No problem." She smiled back. "Any chance you know when I'm getting out of here?"

"I think it'll be a while yet. But you do look better today." Nick told her.

"Gee, thanks." She remarked sarcastically. "Gosh, I'm going crazy. So how's the lab doing? With half our shift in the hospital… Warrick glued to Catherine's side, you and Greg here alternating between Grissom and I…" Sara wondered about work.

"Greg took your clothes over to the lab a few hours ago. Swing and Days were covering our shift last night, and tonight. Then we're back to work." Nick explained.

"Yeah." Sara nodded. "Who's acting supervisor while Grissom's in here?"

"Grissom should be released to desk duty in six days, but until then Warrick I would guess." Nick shrugged. "Considering Catherine's in here, and she'd be the natural choice."

"Yeah." Sara nodded, "At least it's not Ecklie."

"Yeah. At least." Nick sniggered.

--&

"Ughh." Grissom sighed. "What the hell happened to me?" He could make out a figure beside him as the darkness gradually brightened into reality.

"Hey Gil." Brass replied. "You got shot, remember? We were at the Star Pacific looking for Ryan Whittle…"

"Oh yeah." Grissom groaned. "Sorry for well, not listening… being stupid…"

"It's okay." Brass chuckled. "You're going to be fine."

"Great." Grissom said, mock enthusiastically. "When do I leave?"

"You'll probably be released intwo days, if everything continues to go as smoothly as it has been."

"Wonderful." Grissom actually sounded pleased now. "Sara and Catherine are still stable?"

"Still doing well." Brass nodded.

"Good to hear. Now, I know that since Catherine was preoccupied, you would have had to call my Mother, so can I have a phone to call her and inform her I am alright?" Grissom asked.

_"Hi Gil." _A petite, graying woman signed to her son as she stepped into the hospital room. _"It's been far too long." _

--&

A/N: Okay, I had no idea how to end this chapter. I had more written but I thought it was going on and on and no ending to the chapter was in sight so I cut it off there. Italics, obviously, are the signed things. **Please review! **

Thanks!


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35:

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you make me smile! Okay, so I will try and get some GSR going here, since it is going to be a GSR story, and I've had well, quite a bit of YoBling. And thank you T, for pointing out to me that you usually only stay two days or so unless you have something long term. Sorry about that, hah I'm not too knowledgeable about how hospitals work. So, I shall go back to the previous chapter, and **change Grissom's approximated hospital stay from six days to two days.**

--&

_"Mom, Hi!" _Grissom signed, offering his mother a weak smile. He hadn't seen her in a long time, he sometimes forgot altogether that he had a personal life.

"_You got shot?" _She signed with a disapproving look, _"I always knew I should worry about you more in your field of work." _

_"Mom, I'm a scientist." _Grissom protested.

"_Scientists don't get shot at, Gil." _She rolled her eyes. Grissom then realized that Greg and Brass were still in the room, and chuckled at the looks on their faces. "Sorry." He apologized, "This is my mother, Joanne. Mom, this is Jim Brass, and Greg Sanders." He said and signed at the same time.

"_Hello." _She signed, and Brass and Greg both awkwardly nodded back politely.

"Greg," Grissom asked, "How's Sara doing?"

"She's doing fairly well, considering." Greg informed him. "When I left her, she was actually sleeping. She's been sleeping fairly well, for Sara, and she's on the road to recovery."

"Good." Grissom sighed in relief and visibly relaxed, "And Catherine?"

"Had a few more problems." Greg told him with a sigh. "They had to go back into surgery, more internal bleeding. Something seemed not quite right after the second surgery, but I'm sure they took care of it."

"I hope." Grissom nodded. "How much longer are they in the hospital for?"

"Sara should be released, I would guess, in a matter of hours. She's stable, she'll have to have someone with her at all times, to change her gauze, and make sure she's taking her medications, and sleeping, not going over cold cases." Greg told him, "Catherine will probably be a bit longer, but I'm not really sure. You should ask Warrick about that if you see him."

"Oh, I see." Grissom half smiled. At least Warrick had gotten his act together before he had. "_Two of my CSIs were attacked at a scene yesterday morning. There was a hostage situation and now they're in the hospital. Sara Sidle and Catherine Willows." _He explained to his mother, who nodded in understanding.

"_A little exciting for scientists, I think." _She rolled her eyes. Grissom did the same, and then remembered that Brass and Greg were still completely lost. He didn't, however, get time to clear up what he had been telling his mother because the doctor entered the room.

"Alright Mr. Grissom, we have to give you some more medication and then you'll probably want to sleep." The doctor told him. "So if I can get you three to leave the room…"

"Sure." Brass nodded. Grissom quickly signed what the doctor had told him to his mother and she followed Brass and Greg out of the room as Grissom was administered his medicine.

Outside Grissom's hospital room, awkwardness ensued once again. Greg and Brass didn't know sign language and were unable to communicate with Mrs. Grissom, until Greg, being the creative thinker he is, came up with an idea. Grabbing a pen and some paper from a nurses station nearby he began writing on the paper.

"Hi, I'm Greg." The paper read, "Sorry, I don't know sign language, but would this work for now?" He passed the paper to Mrs. Grissom who smiled. She knew that over the course of the time she would be staying in Las Vegas, which was going to be until her son was completely healed, she was going to like this Greg Sanders.

"Yes, this will work fine." She wrote back. Greg smiled back at her.

"I'm going up to check on Sara, okay?" Brass hadn't been up to see Sara, but was quite worried about the young woman, as he looked at her like a daughter.

"Okay." Greg called as Brass left the waiting room.

"He went to check on Sara." Greg wrote.

"Sara Sidle… one of the two CSIs that got hurt yesterday?" Joanne wrote back.

"Yes." Greg wrote back. "And actually, Sara is the girl that we all think Grissom is in love with." This made Joanne smile even wider. She did like this Greg Sanders a lot. Maybe she would be doing more than just helping her son get better of the course of the next few weeks… Over the next while, Greg explained to Joanne all about the relationships between all the CSIs. The way Sara had liked Grissom for years, and Grissom kept ignoring it, the way Catherine tried to get them together, the situation with Catherine and Warrick, Nick being held hostage… Grissom's mother was a wonderful person, and Greg wondered why Grissom didn't visit her, or she didn't visit him more often. It was decided, at the end of their conversation, when the doctor came back to check on Grissom and said he was asking to see them again, that Joanne and Greg would play matchmaker over the next while, until she had to leave, and by the time she had to leave, Sara and Grissom would be the couple they should be. They were determined that this was going to work.

--&

Brass ran into Nick in the hallway. He knew which floor Sara was on, and luckily Nick was able to direct him to the specific room. Knocking quietly, he entered and his breath caught in his throat at the site of the young CSI. He never expected to see her like this. Sara was always so strong, so put together, courageous, brave… and now she looked so broken, so vulnerable and weak. It made him so filled with rage that someone could do this to her, and to Catherine, who was also one of his oldest friends. They were such amazing women, so full of life… they were going to catch John Hamilton if it was the last thing he did.

"Hey Sara, how're you holding up?" He asked in his most comforting voice, approaching to sit in the chair beside her bed.

"Hey Jim." She smiled, and he smiled back. Just to know that Sara could still be smiling after all this gave him hope. "I'm doing as well as could be expected. Anxious to get out of here, naturally."  
"Naturally." He chuckled. "Do you know when you can be released?"

"Not yet." Sara sighed, wishing she did. "I think I might be able to get them to let me out sometime tomorrow afternoon. If I can sign the papers, they have to let me go right?" She asked hopefully.

"Well, as long as you have someone to take care of you, then I guess so." Brass shrugged. "Just make sure you take all your medications, and continue getting healthy. Because I know as soon as you're out of here, it'll be: when can I go back to work? And you can't do that until well, all your fractures and breaks are healed, then I assume you'll be put back on desk duty. You'll have to go to physiotherapy and trauma counselling." He knew she knew all of this, but he wasn't sure if anyone had reminded her because knowing Sara, she could conveniently forget about all of these things.

"I know, I know." She sighed, "I was hoping no one would bring it up." Brass chuckled at this, knowing he had been right. "How's Grissom doing?"

"He's doing alright. His Mother's here, and he's been asking about you." Brass told her.

"Oh really?" Sara's eyes lit up at this last piece of knowledge. "How long is his Mom staying for?"

"Until he's better, I would assume. She's worried his career is too dangerous for him." Brass smiled.

"He's a scientist." Sara pointed out.

"That's what he said," Brass laughed, "But then she told him that scientists don't get shot at. I think you'll like her."

"Good." Sara sighed. Brass could tell she was tiring already, just from the normal conversation between the two of them.

"Maybe you should get some rest." He suggested.

"I will." She nodded, "But will you stay with me for a while?" She looked hesitant and almost fearful when she asked him this, which showed him this had affected her more than she was letting on.

"Sure." He nodded, settling back in the chair as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

--&

A/N: No Warrick/Catherine in this chapter, but ohwell, I'll put lots of them in next one. They've been in it more than everyone else anyways, I think. Blah, I don't know, but tell me what you thought? It'd be greatly appreciated.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36:

A/N: As promised, I shall write heavily on the Warrick/Catherine in this one, and the action is returning I PROMISE.

--&

Warrick awoke to find Catherine cradling, the best she could with her injuries, a sleeping Lindsay.

"When'd she get here?" He wondered.

"About an hour ago." Catherine told him.

"How's she holding up?" He asked.

"Well, she just came from Sara's room. Apparently she's been having bad nightmares for quite some time now, but was scared to tell me before. Sara convinced her to I suppose." Catherine explained, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What were the nightmares about Cath? And what's wrong, isn't it a good thing she's opening up?" Warrick was highly concerned now.

"They were about…" The tears started to slip down Catherine's cheek. "About Ed." She managed to choke out. Warrick sighed. The last thing she needed right now was to trudge through memories of her bastard of an ex husband, but he knew she'd do anything for Lindsay. Heck, _he'd_ do anything for Lindsay.

"Oh." He replied, as sympathetically as he could manage.

"Yeah." Catherine sighed. "And on top of everything going on already…"

"I don't know how anyone could ever hurt you." Warrick sighed, barley audibly, brushing a stray strand of strawberry blonde hair from her face. Catherine wanted to cry, or kiss him, or both even. How could anyone be as sweet as Warrick? As honest, as handsome? Not in her opinion anyways. "You're so beautiful, so innocent…" Warrick trailed off, his lingering fingers leaving her face and falling on the pillow.

"I am not innocent." Catherine laughed, her eyes filled with tears.

"You look like you are." Warrick shrugged, though knowing himself that Catherine wasn't the most innocent person he knew, but then again, he couldn't exactly say much different about himself.

"Well, thank you, I suppose." Catherine smiled, through the tears that were now rapidly running down her face. Things were perfect.

"Your welcome, I suppose." Warrick semi mocked her, and she made a goofy face which he returned.

"Mom," They heard a croaky, whiney voice whisper.

"Hey honey!" Catherine looked down at her daughter.

"If you make that face for too long, it'll stay like that." Lindsay informed her.

"Thanks for reminding me." Catherine laughed. That was innocence.

"We wouldn't want your face to freeze like that." Warrick chimed in, "Although it is cute."

"Are you guys flirting?" Lindsay asked, making a face of her own. "Ew. I'm going to go find Greg or someone cool."

"I'm not cool?" Warrick feigned hurt.

"Not when you're flirting with my Mom." Lindsay rolled her eyes.

"Okay Lindsay." Catherine rolled her eyes. "But are you feeling better about, you know, before?"

"A bit." Lindsay nodded, "But really, I don't think this is a great time to talk about it… I mean, you're kind of going through a rough time right now."

"Thanks sweetie." Catherine smiled at her daughter, who climbed back on the bed and gave her Mother a hug.

"You know, it's not going to be too long before I'll have to come visit you in a place like this regularly." Lindsay smirked.

"You know something I don't?" Catherine asked. "Am I getting seriously injured?"

"No," Lindsay smirked again, "You're getting old. See ya!" And with that she skipped out of the room.

"I'm getting old. Pfft." Catherine shook her head, and then cringed slightly in pain. "Ugh. Maybe I am getting old. She's right."

"Catherine," Warrick smiled, "You are definitely not getting old. Well, naturally you're getting older, but not old. You're still easily one of the most beautiful women I have ever met, and you know how often I used to hang around casinos," Warrick paused for a dramatic wink, and a chuckle from Catherine, "And besides that, you have a million times more intelligence and personality than they do, making you a million times more beautiful. Just sitting here with you in this hospital room, of all places, I'm having the best time of my life, just because I get to be with you."

"This sounds like a proposal speech." Catherine laughed. "But thank you, really. It's cheering me up. A little flattery never hurt anyone."

"Well, I suppose it could be a proposal speech, but you know, we've never really dated yet… so I guess basically what I'm trying to say is, would you like to go out with me?"

"That sounds so… eighth grade. But nonetheless it is easily the sweetest, most romantic way I have ever been asked out on a date." Catherine smiled.

"Is that a yes?" Warrick checked.

"Of course it is." Catherine laughed, as he leaned in to give her a tiny peck on the lips.

"Did you know you just made my day?" Warrick sighed, as he wrapped his arm carefully around Catherine.

"I was hoping I would, because you made mine." She tried as best she could without hurting herself to respond to his embrace.

"Anytime." He smiled, as she drifted off to sleep again, him soon following. They were definitely going to be well rested when they got out of the hospital, and they'd need to be. Jotting down a final note, the notebook was shut, this part of the mission complete.

From outside the hospital room, invisible to the couple inside, a man dropped his notebook which he had been furiously scribbling in as his cell phone rang. "Dammit." He cursed as he opened it.

"That is no way to say hello." A voice on the other ended scolded him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. What do you want?" He asked.

"Did you get what I asked for?" The voice returned with a question.

"Almost." The man answered, pulling a camera out of his pocket and quickly snapping a few shots of the sleeping pair. "Done."

"And you weren't too obvious?"

"There were a few minor…set backs, namely the girl, but I could take care of it?" The man suggested.

"No. Just listen to what I tell you, and follow my instructions. Nothing more and nothing less. It's not that hard to do." The voice was exasperated, and that was not a good thing.

"Sure boss, see you soon." The man hung up quickly before he could get into any more trouble. Picking up the notebook and hastily shoving it into his pocket he darted down the hallway trying to blend in. He almost felt bad for these people. Almost. But he did what he was paid to do, and when was that ever a crime?

--&

A/N: So that was short, mysterious? Haha. I hope so. So off to bed for me. Good night. Review? Pretty please.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37:

A/N: I am back! Hah. Sick, and back. Hopefully I'm getting more into a regular updating pattern again, now that school's back in and everything, so here we go:  
PS: Grissom's back story and that, might be a bit different then the pieces of information we have in the show, but let's just go with it for now.

--&

Sara sat bolt right up in bed, opening her eyes. In doing so, she discovered that Brass, who had been with her when she had fallen asleep, was gone and in his place sat a dozing Greg.

"Greg?" She called quietly, trying to wake him. He stirred, and then opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the light that was shining in from the window opposite the bed.

"Sara, how are you feeling?" He asked immediately after taking in his surroundings.

"Dying to get out." Sara sighed.

"Then you're going to love me." Greg smiled brightly.

"Why's that?" Sara raised an eyebrow at Greg's statement.

"Because I am here to tell you that you can leave this afternoon." Greg told her, and Sara's face broke into a huge smile.

"Are you serious? What time is it?" She asked excitedly.

"Around noon." Greg glanced at his watch. "We have to get you checked out by the doctor again, then we should be able to take you home."

"I guess I won't be able to go back to work for a while, will I?" Sara sighed. She'd been avoiding the thought, but now it was unavoidable.

"That'd be a safe guess." Greg agreed. Sara wasn't sure which was more depressing; staying in this hospital room, where she felt trapped, confined and rather like a piece of evidence, or at her house where she could do what she wanted to some extent, considering her energy. The choice did seem anonymous, but at the hospital, she had visitors. At home, would she?

"Yeah." Sara nodded. "I hate recovering."

"I know what you mean." Greg nodded. "Do you want me to get the doctor?"

"Sure." Sara nodded, attempting to smile. Greg gave her a slightly puzzled look. Up until it was actually happening, Sara had been dying to get out of the hospital. But he wasn't worried too much about that now, because phase one was about to be put into action.

--&

Joanne Grissom was sitting by her son's bed, watching him sleep as she had when he was a boy. Back then, he had looked so innocent, peaceful, and now he looked anything but. Tormented, uneasy and anything but innocent was what she saw now when she looked at him. Every day, when she thought about her son and his line of work, what he was exposed to every day, she couldn't help but blame herself. If his Father hadn't gotten so depressed then he might not have overdosed. If she wouldn't have tried to protect Gil by lying to him about the cause of death concerning his father, he might not have been so determined to make sure that things like what had happened to him didn't happen to other people. He might not have started working at the coroner's office as soon as he was old enough, and he might not have been so closed off from the rest of the world. The way she saw it, if she hadn't have gone deaf, everything in their lives would have been different. And as usual, a tear fell down her cheek. This was something she couldn't make go away.

"_Mom_?" Grissom signed, pushing himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly at a sharp pain in his leg.

"_Hi Gil."_ His mother signed back.

"_What's wrong?_" Grissom signed, a concerned expression on his face. He was going to be fine… at least as far as he knew, so why was his mother sitting at his bedside, crying?

"_I just feel like I've failed you."_ His mother signed sadly, stopping to wipe the tears off of her cheek. _"When you Father died… I just feel like it was all my fault. That if I wasn't deaf… none of this would have happened." _It made Grissom angry, just to hear his Mother thinking these thoughts. Not angry with her, angry at himself. Did she perceive the fact that he never visited as him being angry with her? Resenting her for how she brought him up, handled his Father's sudden death? Surely she knew he loved her.

"_Mom…"_ Grissom signed, not sure where to begin. "_Don't say that. I couldn't have asked for a better Mother. I love you." _Joanne knew her Son. She knew he wouldn't say that if he didn't really mean it, and that meant everything to her. Now smiling through her tears, she answered.

"_Gil, you don't know how much it means for me to hear you say that." _

"_We've got to visit each other more often." _Grissom signed with a smile.

"_Agreed._" Joanne signed back. "_But right now we can let the real visit again. We're getting you out of this hospital, and home." _

"_Really?" _Grissom's face lit up.

"_I'll go get the doctor now."_ She nodded, heading towards the door. Grissom smiled, excited to get home, mostly because home was one step closer to work.

--&

As Greg shut the door to Sara's room behind him, he bumped into Lindsay in the hallway, and after her exaggerated recount of her Mother and Warrick's pitiful flirting, he invited her to come along to find the doctor with him. Along the way he began to fill her in on his and Joanne's plan.

"So you and Uncle Gil's Mom are going to play matchmaker? For Grissom and Sara?" Lindsay giggled.

"Yes we are." Greg nodded with a smile.

"So you're like cupid?" Lindsay giggled some more.

"I guess I am like cupid." Greg smiled, doing his interpretation of a cupid dance.

"You're silly Greg." Lindsay rolled her eyes, but continued giggling. It was moments like that when Greg could swear he was looking at, and talking to, a younger Catherine exactly.

"I know you love it." Greg winked jokingly, and Lindsay gave him a slight punch on the arm. Yup, definitely a lot of Catherine in her.

"Have you ever met Mrs. Grissom?" Greg asked curiously. He knew that Catherine and Grissom were close, and went way back, so he was curious to know exactly how close the families were.

"Once, when I was little, I think." Lindsay pondered. "But I don't really remember her."

"She's really cool." Greg smiled. So it's sort of curious, Greg thought, that she raised Grissom.

"Can I meet her later?" Lindsay's eyes lit up at the prospect of making a new friend.

"I bet you can. Especially if our plan works." Greg nodded.

"Great!" Lindsay hopped up and down with enthusiasm as they reached the nurses station.

"Hello, how can I help you?" A short, friendly looking nurse asked.

"We need to talk to Sara Sidle's doctor." Greg informed her. "It's about her being released later today."

"Right. Let me page him…" She sent a message out and then told them it'd be a few minute wait. Sure enough, only minutes later a doctor appeared.

"I'm Doctor Herman, Miss Sidle's doctor." He told them.

"I'm Greg Sanders, Sara's co-worker, and friend, and this is Lindsay Willows." Greg explained. "She sent me to see about getting checked out so she can be released."

"I don't see a problem with that." The jovial doctor smiled, "Let's head to her room and see how she's doing today, shall we?" Greg and Lindsay simply nodded as they followed the man down the hallway past various rooms they didn't pay any attention to. It wasn't until they made their way past Catherine's room, and Lindsay decided to peek into the window to see if her Mother and Warrick were awake did things take a nosedive.

"Greg!" She nearly shouted, pulling on his sleeve to stop him, as he was a step ahead.

"Yes?" He turned around and stepped back to stand beside her.

"Look!" She pointed, her eyes reflecting the fear she felt. Just when things were starting to get better, they got worse.

--&

A/N: oooOOo. Hah . Any guesses to what Lindsay and Greg saw? I had to add some more drama in, naturally. Though this time I actually do have a plan, which is nice.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38:

A/N: So I totally had a plan for this chapter, and now I forget it. How dumb am I? Hah. I have to remember to write my plan down next time. Here goes some random thoughts: And, thank you to everyone who reviewed. I just spent like an hour trying to figure out WHO SHOT GRISSOM. Did I ever even tell you guys!? Hah. Wow. I suck at writing things, don't I? I am not going to bring that issue back in here, but if you remember me telling you PLEASE TELL ME? Haha. Thank you!

--&

Nick was working away silently in the trace lab, wishing more than anything that the rest of his team was well. Not only because he wanted them to be healthy, they were his friends, and in a way, his family. He hated to see them sick, and in the hospital, no less, but also because he had come to the realization that he hated working with anyone but his team. That's what they were. A team. Friends. It wasn't the same with days and swing working with him. They weren't _his _team. At least Brass was still around… somewhere.

"Hey Nick," A man from days named Roger, said as he entered the lab.

"Roger, what's up?" Nick asked as he continued working.

"I think I found something you might want to see." Nick was out of his chair halfway through the sentence, then quickly following the man down the CSI hallways.

"Pertaining to Sara and Catherine?" Nick made sure.

"CSIs Sidle and Willows, yes." Roger nodded. "I was going over the clothes, and I found multiple fibers and other trace evidence which I sent to Hodges. I compared the fibers to fibers from the sweater Grissom's shooter,"

"John Hamilton." Nick cut in.

"Was wearing." Roger finished.

"So we have proof he came into contact with Sara and Catherine." Nick smiled victoriously. They still didn't have Ryan Whittle, and they still didn't know exactly what happened, but they had someone, and that was a start.

--&

"Ms. Sidle, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Herman asked as he entered her room.

"I'm feeling as well as can be expected." Sara shrugged.

"So no pain anywhere, unusual feelings?" He checked.

"Nope." Sara answered. "I mean, I'm in a bit of pain… but with the extent of my injuries…" She trailed off.

"Slight pain is normal yes." Dr. Herman nodded. Moving over to the bed he stared his short exam. "Yes, everything is looking good today. Do you have someone that's going to look after you? You are starting to heal, but you need someone to stay with you if you're being released from the hospital.

"Okay. Greg… should be back soon." Sara didn't know where Greg and Lindsay had gone.

"Yes. I met Mr. Sanders and Ms. Willows in the hallway. I thought they were right behind me… but he'll be taking you home?" Dr. Herman checked.

"Yeah. He can sign whatever he needs to sign when he gets back if you leave it here." Sara told him.

"Alright…" Dr. Herman glanced down at his pager and back up at Sara. "A nurse will be in to make sure all the forms are done right, but as far as I'm concerned, you're good to go home. You'll have to come back in a few weeks to get your casts changed and your progress checked… but you should heal up fine."

"Thanks." Sara smiled. "That's great news." She really was happy she got to go home. And she hoped Greg wouldn't mind that she told the doctor he was staying with her. She'd insist that he didn't really have to, that she could take care of herself… but she knew that Greg would stay. And really, in all honesty, she wanted him too. Because Greg was nice, and fun, and at least being with Greg would help her from thinking of Grissom. Sort of. Well, if worse came to worse, at least she wouldn't have to think about Grissom alone. Because right now, alone was the last place she wanted to be.

--&

Since the hospital did not have a sign language translator, Joanne resolved to the next best technique. She smiled, thinking of Greg and what a lovely young man he was, as she pulled a pen and paper out of her purse and headed towards the nurses station. By this time, she had conversed with many of the nurses, and word had gotten around about the fact that she was deaf, making it easier for her to find out information for Gil.

"_Hi, I'm here to see when I can get my son Gil checked out of the hospital. Earlier this morning the doctor said he'd be allowed to be released today." _Joanne wrote neatly.

_"Alright, let me page him." _The nurse wrote back with a smile, which Joanne returned, impressed by the friendly service.

"_Thank you." _Joanne wrote back. The nurse smiled again as she picked up the pager and called the doctor to the nurses station. Joanne waited patiently, a skill she'd highly developed over the years of being deaf. Turning back to the pen and paper that she was set neatly on the nurses station, she considered striking up conversation with the friendly nurse to pass the time as they waited for the doctor to answer his page, but instead, let her mind wander to the person she thought of every time she saw that pen and paper. Greg Sanders. More specifically, their matchmaking plan. She had yet to meet this Sara Sidle, the one Greg kept talking about Gil being in love with, but Joanne could tell just from the way her son reacted when someone said Sara's name that there was something there. A definite something there. She felt a polite tap on her shoulder and turned around, coming face to face with a doctor.

"_Hello, I'm Dr. Herman_" He signed, and Joanne smiled brightly, surprised.

"_You sign_." She signed back.

"_Yes, my daughter is deaf_." He nodded with a smile. "_So you're Dr. Grissom's mother?_"

"_Yes I am_." Joanne nodded proudly. She was always proud of her son despite her worrying about the safety of his career, she knew he had accomplished a lot, and was proud of him for it.

"_He's healing exceptionally well. There were no complications with the surgery. He was lucky, the bullet came close to doing some pretty serious damage_." Dr. Herman explained.

"_So I can take him home_?" Joanne asked hopefully.

"_Let me go do a quick check on him, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't_." He smiled, enjoying the fact he was giving a patient's family good news for once. Joanne sighed in relief and followed Dr. Herman to Grissom's room. Part one of "Plan Cupid" was about to be set into action, and Joanne couldn't wait.

--&

"Greg," Lindsay's voice wavered.

"Lindsay… it's going to be okay." Greg answered, trying to stay calm. Trying being the operative word.

"But…" Lindsay trailed off. She couldn't think of anything to say, which for a girl her age was an amazement.

"It might not even be what it looks like." Greg stammered. "Maybe… maybe everything's really okay. It may not be the same people…" He trailed off. Lindsay shook herself back into reality. Making a quick, and courageous, decision, she marched into her mother's hospital room.

"Hey!" She nearly shouted as she entered, restraining herself from jumping on her Mother's bed to wake Warrick and her Mom up.

"Shit…" The man turned around. He obviously hadn't expected Lindsay. Warrick opened his eyes and jumped quickly off the bed at the sight of the intruder.

"Who are you?" He asked, keeping himself from pouncing on the Man and restraining him just to be cautious.

"You'd better have a logical explanation for this." Greg advised, stepping into the room after recovering from the onset of awe at the young girl for taking charge of the situation .

"I do. I do." The man held up his hands in a defensive position. "It's just… I'm not allowed to tell you."

"That makes a lot of sense." Warrick snorted. By this time Catherine, who was still drowsy from the drugs she was on due to her injuries and recent surgery, was just waking up.

"What's going on?" She asked groggily.

"Nothing…" Warrick trailed off. "We'll be right back." Forcefully he grabbed the man's arm. He protested at first and then gave in and complied with Warrick as he was pulled out of the room, Lindsay and Greg quickly trailing behind. In the hallway, the door shut as not to disturb the still waking, groggy Catherine, Warrick began his inquisition as to the man's identity and reasons for behind in Catherine's hospital room. "You've got to have a reason. And if you don't… well I'd call the cops but, unfortunately for you, we are the cops."

"Don't you think I know that?" The man hissed.

"What's your name?" Greg piped up, hoping to get anything from the man.

"Adam." He answered plainly.

"You have a last name?" Warrick demanded.

"Not to you." Came a voice from behind the group. Lindsay was the first to recognize it.

"Grandpa!"

--&

A/N: Okay. So I formed some sort of mini plan right there at the end. I have not updated anything in like one billion and two years. But well, yeah. Hopefully someone's still interested in reading this! Anyways, please review! Thank you!


	39. Chapter 39

There's Something I've Been Meaning to Tell you

So I haven't updated in ... forever. But now I am going to. Also, I think I'm going to try to finish it soon. Because it's been way too long and I want to finish all my old stories aha. Cause I want to write differently now.

--&

"Mr. Hamilton," Nick smiled, stepping into the interrogation room. The man was lucky that Brass shot at him before he shot at Grissom, or he wouldn't have sustained such a superficial wound.

"CSI Stokes," John replied smugly. "Are you here to set me free? I've been shot, and I don't think you can hold me any longer for the kidnapping of those..."

"Even if I couldn't hold you for that, which by the way, I can, you shot a CSI. But I guess in the end, that won't make much difference to you, will it? What's another few years in prison after all that you're going to get for kidnapping, assaulting and torturing two CSIs."

"She tortured me." He murmured loud enough for Nick to hear.

"Was that a confession?"

"It wasn't." John's attorney cut in sharply.

"I didn't do it." John sighed.

"They explain how we found the same fibers from your sweater on Sara Sidle and Catherine Willow's clothing?" Nick challenged. "And I bet that when I get the warrant to look at your shoes, they're going to match a set we found where Catherine and Sara were being held. Now were you just there, or did you participate in the assault?"

"Don't comment, Mr. Hamilton." The attorney advised.

"We know about Ryan. Tell us where he is and we can talk some more." Nick propositioned him.

"Ryan?" John's face paled visibly. "I ... don't know any Ryan."

"You both knew Sara."

"No."

"Stokes, make your point." The attorney cut in.

"My point is you should tell us where Ryan Whittle is and everything you know about him if you want any hope of making any kind of deal." Nick stated.

"Do it." The attorney urged him.

"Would he protect you?" Nick asked.

"We went to school with Sara, Ryan and I, at Harvard." John began. "Ryan and I were good friends, we were both on the football team and whatever. I think we used to make fun of Sara... I don't know. We made fun of a lot of people. Then Ryan and asked her to a dance as a joke. The next day when we all went up to our friend's cabin, he was already there, and he said that he slept with her, but I could tell you know, by looking at her, that she didn't... want to. But Ryan was my friend, well by that point he was more like my brother. So I just let it go."

"Wrong." Nick answered, surprising himself with how calm he was staying.

"You forgot to mention that you met Sara when you were fifteen, and that you went to the same High School, and oh, the five years you stalked her."

"I didn't... how did you..."

"John..." The attorney sighed, obviously he had not been informed of this information beforehand by his client.

"Do you two need some time to talk?" Nick smirked. "And also John, you might want to mention the fact that we have Sara's statements of how you abused her, repeatedly, so before you two take your break, you might want to tell me every single thing about Ryan you know."

"He's at a motel..." John gave up, giving Nick the details on where Ryan was staying.

"Thank you for your co-operation." Nick said before getting up to leave the room.

"So I'll get a deal?"

"I said if you want any hope." Nick smirked as he left. Finally another lead on Ryan.

--&

"Sam." Catherine sighed, waking up.

"Mugs," Sam smiled as he walked into the room, "Glad to see you're awake."

"Right. What are you doing here?" Catherine asked.

"Well, besides the fact that I came to see you, I've hired Adam." Sam explained.

"He's supposed to be finding out who did this." Catherine sighed.

"Yes, and he will." Sam nodded.

"So will the police." Warrick argued. "We've got leads, this is the lab and the department's too."

"I'm sure it is," Sam rolled his eyes, "But my guys are much more advanced than the department."

"Sam you really don't need to interfere." Catherine attempted to moderate.

"So advanced that they got caught by Lindsay." Warrick chuckled.

"I do, Catherine. People don't mess with my family like that and get away with it."

"They won't get away with it." Greg piped up.

"You bet they won't." Adam cut in.

"Yeah, and how many people have you killed this month?" Catherine asked Adam with a roll of her eyes.

"Catherine," Sam called her by her first name, which got Catherine's attention. "This shouldn't have happened to you. And they will not get away."

"Sam, really, you don't need to."

"I do." He insisted.

"It wasn't your fault." Catherine told him, in case that was what he was thinking.

"With all of my enemies? You can't be sure Mugs."

"Well I am. I am sure." She told him. "And it had nothing to do with you. I'd think your little detective here would have figured at least that out by now." An awkward sort of silence filled the room before Lindsay spoke up.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, Grandpa!" She smiled.

"I know sweetie, you should come over to my place next weekend okay?" He suggested to the girl who nodded excitedly.

"Can I Mom, please?" She asked.

"Sure." Catherine sighed. Sam had completely diverted the conversation.

"We'd appreciate it if you weren't spying on us while we slept." Warrick glared at Adam.

"Fine." Adam sighed.

"I've got to go sign Sara out of the hospital," Greg started.

"Sara's leaving?"

"Yeah, she gets to go home today. Grissom too." Greg answered.

"And Greg and Mrs. Grissom are being cupid!" Lindsay giggled.

"Joanne would." Catherine laughed, and Warrick smiled, though he didn't know Joanne.

"So I better..."

"See you later Greg," Catherine smiled as Greg headed across the hall to Sara's room.

--&

"Greg, can I get out of here now?" Sara whined as he entered the room.

"You're going to love me when I say yes." He smiled brightly.

"Maybe for a little while." She smiled teasingly.

"It's good to see you feeling a bit better, Sar." Greg smiled seriously.

"Alright, so you have to sign these forms Mr. Sanders," Dr. Herman handed him a clipboard, "And a nurse will be around in a while to collect them and make sure you guys get on your way."

"Great!" Sara smiled.

"I'll see you in a week for a checkup Sara."

"Sure," Sara replied. "And thank you!"

"It was my pleasure." Dr. Herman smiled as he left the room.

"Greg sat down on the chair beside the bed and began to read and sign the various forms while Sara waited impatiently for him to finish.

--&

"Alright Dr. Grissom, you are being released but it is under our strong advisory that you do not stay alone for at least two weeks after you've been checked up by Dr. Herman."

"Thank you." Grissom nodded.

"_Ready to go Gil?_" His Mother signed, entering the room with a wheelchair.

"_Very ready._" Grissom signed back. A nurse helped him from his bed to the wheelchair and he reveled in the feeling of being out of bed. "I can't wait to get home and changed out of this hospital gown." He muttered quietly to himself as the nurse pushed him out of the room and down the hallway where Mrs. Grissom motioned for them to stop.

"_What are we waiting for?_" Grissom signed, and said at the same time, as to not leave out the nurse.

"_You'll see._" Joanne signed back. And as he saw Greg pushing Sara in a wheelchair similar to his own into the corridor where they were waiting, he really was beginning to see what may be going on.

--&

A/N: The end of chapter. Please review, if anyone is crazy enough to still be reading haha!


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